"" () is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

. The lyrics were written by French missionary

François Coillard François Coillard (17 July 1834 in Asnières-les-Bourges, Cher, France – 27 May 1904 in Lealui, Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia) was a French missionary who worked for the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society in southern Africa. Life Coillard wa ...

and Swiss missionary Adolphe Mabille, and the music is taken from an 1820

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). They are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Christia ...

composed by Swiss composer Ferdinand Samuel Laur. It was officially adopted as the national anthem in 1967. The original composition that the national anthem was based on had five verses, though only the first and last ended up being adopted.

History

The song was written by French missionaries

and Adolphe Mabille and set to the tune of the 1820

"Freiheit" () by Swiss composer Ferdinand-Samuel Laur. It was introduced around 1869 as part of a collection of hymns and

work song A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either one sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing) or one linked to a task that may be a connected narrative, description, or protest song. An example is " I ...

s. This was immediately after the third and final

Free State–Basotho War Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, the ability to act or change without constraint or restriction * Emancipate, attaining civil and political rights or equality * Free (''gratis''), free of charge * Gratis versus libre, the difference betw ...

(1867–1868), and the lyrics encouraged the

Basotho The Sotho (), also known as the Basotho (), are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The ancestors of the Sotho people are believed to h ...

to accept the borders defined in the 1869 Convention of Aliwal North between Britain and the

Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

Free State, which ended the war. The song is first known to have been performed at a party work party for Basotho chief Molapo in 1870. Originally sung by field workers, by the 1900s, mission schools run by the Paris Evangelical Mission Society had begun teaching the song to their students. Over time, the song became abbreviated, and only the first and fifth (last) verses began to be taught. The missionaries also organised public performances of the song by their students on special occasions. The song gained de facto use in important functions in the early 20th century, commonly being sung after "

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is '' de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle of Man, Australia, Canada and ...

", and was already being referred to as the national anthem by the 1940s. A version including the first and last verses, shortened by choral composer

Joshua Pulumo Mohapeloa Joshua Pulumo Mohapeloa (March 28, 1908 – January 12, 1982) was a prominent choral music composer in Sesotho. Early life Joshua Mohapeloa, a member of the Bataung clan, was born in Molumong in Lesotho, Southern Africa. Joshua Mohapeloa's fa ...

, was declared the official anthem of Lesotho on 1 June 1967, just over a year after independence on 4 October 1966.

Lyrics

Current lyrics

Original lyrics

Notes

References

External links

Lesotho: ''Lesotho Fatse La Bontata Rona'' - Audio of the national anthem of Lesotho, with information and lyricsarchive link

National anthem of Lesotho MIDI
- Vocal {{authority control Music of Lesotho National symbols of Lesotho African anthems 1966 songs Compositions in B-flat major