Top Quotes: “A Short History of Lesotho” — Stephen Gill
“Before the arrival of Christian missionaries in the early 19th century, the indigenous people of Southern Africa had no written language.”
“The house is like a womb where procreation occurs. It is the realm of woman par excellence. She has primacy in this arena. When a child is born, it is confined with its mother within this “womb” for three months until it is strong enough to leave and enter the world, i.e. leave the house (womb). During this period confinement, reeds are placed prominently near the entrance to alert visitors that a new child has come into the world, just as the first human is said to have emerged from a reed bed at some primeval Ntsoana-satsi (place of the rising sun). No man is allowed to enter this house until the period of confinement is completed.”
“In 1832, Moshoeshoe had been visited by a Griqua hunter named Adam Krotz who told him of the beneficial presence of missionaries at Philippolis and Kuruman. Krotz claimed that the constant wars and disturbances which Moshoeshoe faced would disappear once the missionaries began their work among his people. Moshoeshoe expressed a desire to have such men of peace as well, and, after Krotz left, Moshoeshoe sent 200 head of cattle with which to procure at least one missionary for himself.”
“The desperate attempt of the Xhosa to reverse their declining fortunes had led to the catastrophic “cattle killing” of 1856/57. This disaster was not a “national suicide” as it has so often been portrayed. It was neither irrational nor a mere plot by whites to destroy the Xhosa. The Xhosa would annually sacrifice a portion of their animal wealth or harvest in order to honour the ancestors. But the killing of all cattle was only possible and comprehensible because of the lungsickness epidemic of 1855 which was ravaging the herds in unprecedented fashion. Thus, when a new diviner, Nonggawuse, arose in 1856 and called for the complete sacrifice of all cattle and grain, she was obeyed in those areas where the disease was already well advanced. With the nation thus purified, the Xhosa believed their ancestors would rise up and drive the Europeans into the sea and that they would once again enjoy their former prosperity. As the disease spread, so did the willingness of the majority of people to follow the commands of the prophetess.
When the Xhosa obeyed her, and the prophecies were not fulfilled, they were plunged into a devastating famine — exacerbated by the colonial authorities who were only too happy to see their political demise. This cattle killing broke the nation as not even repeated military conflict had been able to do.
Though many of Moshoeshoe’s followers had enthusiastically followed the teachings of Manjeni in 1851, the “cattle killing” of 1856 never caught on in Lesotho even though the lungsickness epidemic was also destroying a significant number of cattle there. The combination of circumstances was apparently different. Perhaps Moshoeshoe’s 1855 “Law against Witchcraft” was in some respects directed against the kind of prophecies which led to the cattle killing among the Xhosa.”
“In 1968 after repeated requests over a number of years by Moshoeshoe for protection the Cape Governor informed him that Britain would soon protect the Basotho nation. As such, all hostilities should charade. Moshanshoe’s land east of the Caledon River valley was plucked from its hands. On 12 March 1868 a formal document was issued proclaiming Basotho to be British subjects.”
“A peace treaty between Lesotho and the Orange Free State was signed in 1869. Most of Moshoeshoe’s land east of the Caledon River was returned to Lesotho. However, all of Moshoeshoe’s land north and west of the Caledon was ceded to the Orange Free State. In other words, between 1854 and 1869, Lesotho lost more than half of its arable land. This loss was particularly painful as the Basotho had not even been allowed by the British to speak for themselves at the peace conference. The Basotho had been offered British protection, but on British terms.”
“However painful the loss of territory and self-determination, the nation was saved from total extermination and “peace” reigned. Although many Basotho from the Conquered Territory moved into the new borders of Lesotho, thousands of homesteads could not afford to do so. They realised just how cramped Lesotho would be, and thus they stayed where they were and made new arrangements with the “white chief”. Others moved to Herschel, Matatiele, Natal or the Eastern Cape.”
“The 1870s were a time of great peace and prosperity. During Letsie’s reign, Lesotho recovered from thrildry station of the second Basotho-Boer War. Although its territory was much reduced, Lesotho became a wealthy grain exporting nation because of tremendous demand for foodstuffs at the newly-opened of the diggings at Kimberley (1870) and later at the gold mines Witwatersrand (1885).”
“The Gun War saw the Cape completely frustrated in its attempts to disarm the Basotho. The Cape forces, though displaying great bravery in the face of attacks by much larger numbers of Basotho combatants, could barely preet the government “camps,” while the forces of chiefs controlled the countryside. Letsie, who was now in a very awkward position, outwardly showed support for the Cape while secretly encouraging the resistance which had made great headway among the bulk of the population. Imitating the example of the Cape, Tlokoa loyal to Letsie killed and decapitated the magistrate, John Austen, and sent his head to the Paramount Chief.
Over £3 000 000 was expended by the Cape during this war. As the stalemate dragged on, Sprigg was discredited and his government fell. Hopes for a federation of white states came to nothing at that time because of strong resistance from the South African Republic (Transvaal). Peace terms were drawn up which allowed the Basotho to keep their arms. This failure to implement the “Peace Preservation Act” meant that the Basotho were the only Africans in Southern Africa who were left in the possession of their weapons. Although their victory at the time seemed like a miracle, it must be borne in mind that the nation was much better armed than previously. Every man possessed at least one horse and a rifle, making the Basotho very well-equipped, especially given Lesotho’s broken and difficult terrain. In addition, the passion which this war aroused was tremendous and defeating a nation on its home territory is always a difficult prospect.”
“The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 from the Cape and Natal (British) and the Orange Free State and Transvaal (Afrikaner). Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland refused to be incorporated into the Union because the Union would not extend the franchise to Africans (except for the restricted franchise practised at the Cape). Fears concerning the future, and the possibility that the Union’s racial policies would become even more rigid, united the chiefs in Lesotho as nothing else could do. Because the Union Constitution made provision for the incorporation of the three High Commission Territories, the chiefs could never quite relax. The leaders of South Africa would over the next few decades raise the issue of incorporation on a number of occasions, and thus stir up the old fears of Basotho that even the little they possessed materially and culturally was not safe from their powerful neighbour. In future, various Resident Commissioners would hold this frightening possibility over the heads of the chiefs if they proved to be too uncooperative.”
“During this period of ferment and change the nation was horrifed by a large spate of “medicine murders” (liretto). Litretto was a form of murder where people forcibly removed the organs, blood or parts of the body of a fellow human being while that person was still alive. These human parts were then prepared as a “medicine” to strengthen the person or persons who had organised and carried out the killing. In order to regain their lost status or to prevent any future reduction of their power, it was alleged that some chiefs resorted to liretlo. These murders created a heated controversy, and added more weight to the question of what role chiefs would play in government during the future.
In 1948, two of the most prominent Principal Chiefs in Lesotho were tried, convicted and hanged for liretlo. They were the former Paramount Chiefs brother, Bereng, from Phamong, and Gabashane Masopha from ‘Mamathe. Between 1938 and 1949, 81 cases of liretlo were prosecuted and almost all implicated a chief or headman. As case after case of liretlo was brought to the High Court, and only a small number of convictions were obtained, a feeling developed among some Basotho that the whole legal process had got out of hand. Was this “witch hunt” not a plot by the British to undermine the institution of chieftainship and the traditional values of society? Or could it possibly be true that the great uncertainty created by the reforms to the chieftaincy had caused many chiefs to resort to the deepest and, in their hearts, the most powerful of traditional “medicines”, i.e. human parts? Whatever the final verdict, the fact is that by the late 1950s, the nation was thoroughly tired of and sickened by these cases which continued to be heard in the High Court.”
“One noteworthy feature of Lesotho’s educational system were that men were expected from an early age to work as shepherds or enter the mines, and thus Lesotho was probably the only country in Africa which educated more women than men.”
