Sotho

The Sotho, or Basotho people as they are formally called, live in southern Africa, where they have resided since the 14th century. According to most historians, they entered the southern region of Africa from the north. Starting their migration from the Great Lakes region of East Africa, these adventurous people crossed the Limpopo into South Africa, tested by their long journey and the protection of their ancestors along the way.

However, it is generally believed that the history of the Basotho is split into two parts. One part is the history before Moshoeshoe I, and the second part is the history of the people after Moshoeshoe I. Due to his brilliance as a strategist, his integrity as a diplomat, and his generosity to his enemies, Moshoeshoe became, even during his lifetime, one of the most significant kings of southern Africa. He was, in a sense, larger than the times because the route to success that he established for the Sotho outlasted him. He was a historic leader, branded by the experiences of war and diplomacy as a great statesman.

Indeed, the Sotho people gained identity and direction from the political skill of their astute leader. He provided land to the people he conquered and influenced them to follow the Sotho ways. The people who had been scattered in the wake of the Mfecane led by Shaka's army of the Zulus often came to refuge in Moshoeshoe's territory. It is because of the great scattering of the Mfecane that Moshoeshoe established the kingdom of Basotho and integrated the refugees and victims into his nation. The people called him Morena e Mobolo, Morena iva Basotho, meaning Great King, King of the Basotho.

The Basotho believe that the Earth is filled with spirits. Children learn at an early age to respect the environment because it is alive with the spirits of the ancestors. Songs are sung to them during infancy and repeated as nursery tales about the traditions and values of the people. Most of the fables, folktales, and songs were presented at nighttime so the children could get the full benefit of the still Earth. Furthermore, it was said that a horn would grow on the head of the person who told fables during the day. This was obviously a way to manage the teaching of the young so that they were instructed when they were most relaxed and the evening was still and dark.

The Basotho understood death to be horrible in any form. The leqbofa, or house of the dead person, particularly if the person somehow lived alone, would be boarded up and left as a spot unfit for humans to live in again. The Basotho believed that evil spirits, those that may have been left to wander because they were not remembered or ritualized, often returned to the same place to take the person. Moreover, if a person died suddenly because of lightning, which occurs often in southern Africa, the people sought out seers and diviners to make some sense out of the situation. Family members would be told about the death of a loved one only at night. The way the Basotho spoke of death was to say that the person had emigrated somewhere else. The word used was ofaletse. The term for “he is dead” is o sboele. The term was considered very bad, taboo, and even vulgar in the Sotho language. In addition, there was a taboo against mentioning the name of the deceased. It should be said that “the late so-and-so who lived down the street” was such-and-such. One avoided at all costs the use of the person's name in connection with death. Funerals were mostly held at night, and children were prohibited from attending the funerals or seeing the dead corpse. The aim of the Sotho society was to protect the living from the cruelty of death.

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