The Basotho blanket is a distinctive form of woollen blanket commonly worn by

Sotho people The Sotho () people, also known as the Basuto or Basotho (), are a Bantu nation native to southern Africa. They split into different ethnic groups over time, due to regional conflicts and colonialism, which resulted in the modern Basotho, who ...

in the

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

History

Originally gifted to the then ruler King Moshoeshoe I by a British man known only as "Mr Howell" in the late 19th century, these blankets quickly gained popularity in the Lesotho region. The way that Basotho men wear these traditional blankets is based on the traditional

Kaross A kaross is a cloak made of sheepskin, or the hide of other animals, with the hair left on. It is properly confined to the coat of skin without sleeves and used to be worn by the Khoikhoi and Bushmen / San peoples of South Africa. These karosses b ...

, an animal skin cloak although their transformation to "factory-woven textile" is attributed to King Moshoeshoe I. By 1860 securing sufficient skins for Karosses was increasingly difficult and by 1872 a large majority of sheepskin covers had been replaced by poor quality cotton or wool. The King secured the production of "special blankets" in 1876 after meeting with Scottish textile manufacturer Donald Fraser. These new blankets were not only sturdier but they could also be fashioned in a way that more resembled the Kaross and they therefore quickly replaced the poor quality imported cloth that the people of Lesotho were previously wearing.

Ceremonial use

Across the kingdom, a variety of these blankets are worn by the people of Lesotho to represent the different rites of passage in society. The Moholobela is a fertility blanket worn by young Sotho men in preparation of their transition to manhood. After the initiation ceremony, the young men in Lesotho will don a different blanket known as the Lekhokolo, which confirms that they have reached adulthood. It used to be the case that a Mosotho bride would wear a Motlotlehi blanket on their wedding day, but the Lingoetsi blanket has since replaced its obsolete counterpart. Husbands, on the other hand, traditionally gift their wife a Serope blanket when their first child is born. Seana Marena: Means chief's blanket or to swear by the king: This particular blanket is exclusively worn by the king and his chiefs, it has the highest status of all Basotho blankets. Lehlosi: A Chiefly blanket made of patterns from the skin of

wild cat Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the do ...

leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

. At present, one will often observe chiefs wearing commercially manufactured blankets bearing the print of a leopard, rather than actual leopard skins. Victorian/ Malakabane: According to a local legend, in 1897

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

visited the

(this did not actually occur). She gave King

Lerotholi Lerotholi Letsie (1836–1905) was the paramount chief of Basotho (modern Lesotho) from November 20, 1891 to August 19, 1905. Leadership of Basotho Lerotholi became leader after his father's death in 1891. In 1898, he fought and defeated his unc ...

a gift, which happened to be a blanket. He wore the blanket with elegance, in a manner that represented the

Poncho A poncho (; qu, punchu; arn, pontro; "blanket", "woolen fabric") is an outer garment designed to keep the body warm. A rain poncho is made from a watertight material designed to keep the body dry from the rain. Ponchos have been used by the ...

, over his shoulders and there the blanket wearing tradition began. The blanket was named Victoria England. The

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana * Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an off ...

people had a great love and respect for Queen Victoria and the Victoria England blanket has become a sought after status symbol. Motlatsi: designed and produced to pay tribute to the birth of Prince Lerotholi. Motlatsi means "successor". Letlama: worn by traditionally initiated men & women " ''tlama''" is to tie "''ke e tlametse mathata aseng basali ba bath''o" ("I have tied it(the blanket) for my own problems not for other men's wives') is what one who wears this particular blanket would say. Lingoetsi: a bride's blanket. Batho Ba Roma: remembering Pope John Paul's visit to Lesotho in 1988. Kharetsa: named after the aloe which is indigenous to the

Maloti Mountains The Maloti Mountains are a mountain range of the highlands of the Kingdom of Lesotho. They extend for about 100 km into the South African Free State. The Maloti Range is part of the Drakensberg system that includes ranges across large areas ...

of Lesotho. Sefate and Morena: are used by the Basotho people as an everyday wearing blanket. Ketelo ea Morena Papa which means the visit of the Pope:

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

once had a visit to Lesotho in 1988, a blanket gift was given to him which has been placed in the Vatican in Rome.

In popular culture

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...

's designs for the 2017 menswear collection featured designs from Basotho Blankets which caused controversy in South Africa with accusations of

cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...

. In the 2018 films ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

'' and in '' Avengers: Infinity Wars'',

W'Kabi Dorothy Walker Dorothy Walker is a fictional character in Marvel Comics. She was created by Stuart Little and Ruth Atkinson and first appeared in ''Miss America Magazine'' #2 (November 1944). She was reintroduced in '' The Defenders'' #89 (Novem ...

and his tribesmen appear in many scenes wearing what looks like the Basotho blanket. Given that the actors in the film were not from Continental Africa, several continental African groups viewed the appropriation of these cultural symbols as inappropriate for use by diasporic Africans. The movie however brought the blankets to international attention and brought about an increase in sales.

References

External links

{{commonscat-inline, Basotho blankets Sotho culture Blankets African fashion

History

Ceremonial use

In popular culture

See also

References

External links