Basotho family odes (diboko) form part of oral literature, and refer to names of families, clans or totems. They constitute poetic compositions conveying information about clans' historical origin, philosophy and ancestors. The performance of this oral art form makes use of formulaic techniques such as linking, parallelism, alliteration, etc., which are commonly used in praise poetry. As basis to the content of these oral art forms, the genealogies of the various Basotho clans are discussed to show the reflection of the progenitor names in the clan praises. The functions of family odes are of educational, social and religious nature. Other functions include their use in compositions of other genres, such as, praise poems, mine workers' chants, traditional doctors' falls (mawa) and songs. The recitation of this oral art form is characterised by the instability of the texts, which takes the form of extensions, additions, truncations, improvisations and genre transitions. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

Rinderpest, the most dreaded bovine plague, struck the cattle of the BaSotho in British Basutoland early in 1897. By December the murrain had spent itself, having reduced the cattle population by half As it did so, the rinderpest claimed the primary historical significance of an epidemic. By sharpening behaviour and illuminating latent or developing tendencies, the rinderpest helped to reveal the nooks and crannies of contemporary historical processes that would have otherwise eluded historical visibility. This thesis brings out the complexities and ambiguities surrounding the epidemic. It uses the crisis occasioned by the panzootic in its multifaceted manifestations as a prism through which we might view the complex aspects of contemporary historical processes. It goes beyond the narrow limits of the crisis itself to discerning the broader and wider historical patterns that the rinderpest helped to highlight.

This study explores the operations of Sesotho masculinity: its dominant ideas and practices and their effects on Basotho women and men and this latter‟s resistance to a gender-ethical consciousness gaining momentum in Lesotho. It challenges a deep running belief among the Basotho that being born male necessarily means being born into a superior social position and status that is naturally and divinely sanctioned. It investigates how the dominant postcolonial discourse called sekoele (a return to the traditions of the ancestors) and the Christian churches‟ discourses of the “true”/“authentic” Christian life, framed by the classical biblical and confessional dogmatic traditions, actually support and sustain this belief and so reinforce the imbalance of power in favour of men in the order of gender relations in Lesotho. On the contrary, through the principles of the contextual theologies of liberating praxis, social construction theory, a narrative approach to therapy, gender-ethical consciousness and participatory approach, the study argues that masculinity and ways of being and thinking about men are socially constructed through historical and cultural processes and practices. It is in these processes and practices that Basotho men have been and continue to be advantaged and privileged over women. This study has challenged this situation by tracing the existence of alternative, more ethical ways of being and thinking about men in those historical and cultural processes and practices; ways which are more open to women and children and their wellbeing in the everyday life interactions. In this way, the study argues for a gender-ethical consciousness, which, in particular, invites Basotho men to engage in a reflection on their participation in a culture and practices which oppress the other, especially women and children. It invites Basotho men to accountability and responsibility. In this sense a gender-ethical consciousness is understood as watershed of masculinity in Lesotho. The participation of a group of Basotho men who offered to reflect on their relationship with the dominant masculinities, demonstrates how Basotho men are struggling to transform yet they fill us with the hope that change is possible. / Humanities Social Sciences and Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

This dissertation aims at finding out the religious significance of Basotho ritual practices at births, weddings and funerals in Lesotho. The researcher combines literature review of scholars who have studied the Basotho socio-cultural life, with personal field study through dissemination of questionnaires, interviews and personal observations. Through this approach he finds out the various ritual practices that dot the Basotho life through the rites of passage, and then studies their religiousness in terms of traditional beliefs. He also finds out how these ritual practices have persisted in the face of Christian influence and western education, and how far they have been influenced. There is also an attempt to look into the importance of ancestor veneration in connection with Basotho beliefs and practices. The study reveals that the religious connotation of the ritual practices lies in how people seek transcendental meaning to life through the ritual practices. / Religious Studies & Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

Since the publication of Dr. Johnson’s first English dictionary in 1755, there have been rapid changes in the development of dictionaries in other parts of the world. However, the advances are perceived more in other languages of the world such as the European languages while in Africa, the changes have been very slow. The majority of dictionaries utilised by most Africans are bilingual and were produced by the missionaries. These dictionaries were aimed at serving the needs of the missionaries, but more recently African scholars have been trying to create dictionaries that are intended to meet the needs of the native speakers particularly because the existing dictionaries contain many words which are archaic or going out of use. This means that the currently produced dictionaries should reflect the changes that have occurred in languages and society. The two dictionaries under scrutiny, Sesuto-English Dictionary and Sethantšo sa Sesotho, share similar content as if they were both targeting the same generation even though the former was written by missionaries in the 19th century while the latter was created by a Sesotho native speaker in the 21st century. This study aimed to establish whether the two dictionaries are the same or not, or whether Sethantšo sa Sesotho had been derived from Sesuto-English Dictionary as well as whether the two dictionaries meet the needs of the contemporary users. The study employed adaptation theory in order to discover the originality of Sethantšo sa Sesotho. User-perspective approach and communication-oriented function were utilised to judge the effectiveness of the two dictionaries in reading and writing and to analyse users’ views. The study established that Sethantšo sa Sesotho has adapted 69% lexical items from Sesuto-English Dictionary; words are arranged in a similar order in both dictionaries with slight differences here and there; most definitions and illustrative phrases/sentences are the same even though the author of Sethantšo sa Sesotho did not acknowledge using any written source of information, thus violating the principles of adaptation; use of these dictionaries during reading and writing was found to be beneficial to users; and both dictionaries lack current words which users encounter daily. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil.(African Languages)

This study explores the operations of Sesotho masculinity: its dominant ideas and practices and their effects on Basotho women and men and this latter‟s resistance to a gender-ethical consciousness gaining momentum in Lesotho. It challenges a deep running belief among the Basotho that being born male necessarily means being born into a superior social position and status that is naturally and divinely sanctioned. It investigates how the dominant postcolonial discourse called sekoele (a return to the traditions of the ancestors) and the Christian churches‟ discourses of the “true”/“authentic” Christian life, framed by the classical biblical and confessional dogmatic traditions, actually support and sustain this belief and so reinforce the imbalance of power in favour of men in the order of gender relations in Lesotho. On the contrary, through the principles of the contextual theologies of liberating praxis, social construction theory, a narrative approach to therapy, gender-ethical consciousness and participatory approach, the study argues that masculinity and ways of being and thinking about men are socially constructed through historical and cultural processes and practices. It is in these processes and practices that Basotho men have been and continue to be advantaged and privileged over women. This study has challenged this situation by tracing the existence of alternative, more ethical ways of being and thinking about men in those historical and cultural processes and practices; ways which are more open to women and children and their wellbeing in the everyday life interactions. In this way, the study argues for a gender-ethical consciousness, which, in particular, invites Basotho men to engage in a reflection on their participation in a culture and practices which oppress the other, especially women and children. It invites Basotho men to accountability and responsibility. In this sense a gender-ethical consciousness is understood as watershed of masculinity in Lesotho. The participation of a group of Basotho men who offered to reflect on their relationship with the dominant masculinities, demonstrates how Basotho men are struggling to transform yet they fill us with the hope that change is possible. / Humanities Social Sciences and Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

This dissertation aims at finding out the religious significance of Basotho ritual practices at births, weddings and funerals in Lesotho. The researcher combines literature review of scholars who have studied the Basotho socio-cultural life, with personal field study through dissemination of questionnaires, interviews and personal observations. Through this approach he finds out the various ritual practices that dot the Basotho life through the rites of passage, and then studies their religiousness in terms of traditional beliefs. He also finds out how these ritual practices have persisted in the face of Christian influence and western education, and how far they have been influenced. There is also an attempt to look into the importance of ancestor veneration in connection with Basotho beliefs and practices. The study reveals that the religious connotation of the ritual practices lies in how people seek transcendental meaning to life through the ritual practices. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

Thesis (B. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007

The main aim of the study is to make a historical-biographical analysis of four selected Northern Sotho dramatic texts. Chapter one illustrates that the texts we have selected are historical dramas since they deal with the life histories of historical characters. In order to comprehend these texts, it is important to view them as evidence of oral history. The chapter also discusses the approach used by Fleischman which consists of the following parameters: authenticity, intention, reception, social function, narrative syntax and finally narrator involvement. Chapter two discusses the play Marangrang as a reflection of the consequences of Shaka's imperialism and how this affected the Eastern Transvaal in 1820. The chapter illustrates that in order to understand the life history of Marangrang, it is important to discuss it in relation to this period, popularly known as difaqane. It is clear that information about Marangrang has been deliberately distorted because of fear. Chapter three deals with the destructive consequences of Western religion on the traditional African religion. The chapter is based on the life history of Kgasane, who was murdered in 1884, allegedly for his devotion to Christianity. The chapter shows the importance of the need to make a re-interpretation of missionary writings, specifically those surrounding the Berlin Mission Society in South Africa. Chapter four focuses on the role of formal education in the destruction of the Bakgaga ba GaMphahlele history. The chapter is based on the life history of Kgosi Mmutle Ill in bringing formal education to the people of Mphahlele and how this destroyed certain traditional institutions such as chieftainship. Chapter five deals with the problems experienced by mineworkers and also shows the sufferings of Africans at the hands of the government. The chapter is based on the life of Serogole Mathobela, who once worked in the mine. Chapter six is a conclusion where the findings of the previous chapters are made. The reasons why the authors of these texts suspended certain information while highlighting other information varies from fear to propaganda. In conclusion, it is observed that in order to do justice to oral history more financial support is needed. / African Languages / D.Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

The study vacillates between the text, the reader and the author. Examining biography and such socio-cultural factors as marriage and cosmology, the reader is equipped with sufficient background which illuminates the ideology behind the text. The cosmological conceptions of the Northern Sotho shed some light on the poet's views on the child's first cry. These assumptions lay a foundation for the religious views expressed in his texts. The contradictions between African religion and Christianity help us comprehend the frustrations of secular and religious lives in our country. These also serve as linchpins towards understanding the pursuit of religious pluralism. The concept 'intertextuality' is explored. Cases of intratextuality and intertextuality which dispute the absolutist view in meaning composition highlight the interrelatedness of texts and how each relationship impacts on meaning. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)