Chapter 2: Literature review

The purpose of the literature review is to explore relevant literature relating to the Basotho traditional textile, weaving practices and contemporary materials.

2.1 Basotho woven textiles

The most commonly seen crafts in Lesotho are those made from grass because it is abundant in the mountain highlands (Morley, 2007). Basotho women are greatly talented in weaving grass hats (Mokorotlo and ts’ets’e), baskets, brooms, traditional beer strainers (motlhotlo) and floor mats. The Basotho used to weave enormous baskets (Sesiu) that were used in the households for storing grainy foods from the fields (Morley 2007). They also used to weave smaller and more decorative baskets (seroto), which were created for keeping fruit and other dry foods. The storage baskets are no longer being produced because it is more economical and is considered a sign of status to own enamel and plastic baskets which outlast the grass baskets (Morley, 2007). Beer strainers (motlhotlo) and floor mats seem to be a thing of the past. They are rarely produced and when created, it is primarily for decorative purposes and for selling to tourists (Morley, 2007).

Mohair weaving is labelled a “traditional” craft. It was introduced in the 1960s by foreigners who trained hundreds of Basotho women and it became a prominent craft in the country (Morley 2007). According to a 1980 report by the Office of Women in Development (OWD), the weaving cooperatives in Lesotho were under the coordination of the United Kingdom and the United States of America. There are a few weavers who use floor looms for faster weaving and they produce mohair shawls, scarves, bags and table runners. To conclude, the craft of weaving in Lesotho has been reduced to a smaller scale of ornaments and basic household items like brooms which will likely soon also disappear.

2.2 Basotho’s architectural history

Architecture in the Basotho land began earlier than 1600AD, when the San or Bushmen were still the inhabitants of Lesotho. They lived in caves (lehaha) or shelters made of branches and turfs of grass (moqheme), (Mokorosi, 2017). Around 1600AD, other tribes of Baphuthi, Bats’oeneng, Baphetla and Lihoja occupied the land and constructed beehive dwellings (hemispherical) made of corbelled stones (liqhobo), with walls and roofs with small door opening (Mokorosi, 2017). Between 1600AD and 1900AD, the Basotho and Xhosa tribes created grass thatched circular huts with conical roofs now known as rondavels and circular huts with a tunnel- like porch at the entrance (Mohlongoa-fatse) which is known to have existed form Ntsoana-tsatsi (Basotho’s place of origin), (Mokorosi, 2017).

In the nineteenth century the Basotho adopted the heisi which was introduced by the missionaries. Heisi had a square or rectangular floor plan with saddleback thatch roof, then later, the thatch was replaced with flat, corrugated-iron roof and was then called polata (Mokorosi, 2017). The construction process of Mohlongoa-fatse; a hemispherical shape was formed by bending the poles/branches inward and tying them at the top (Mokorosi, 2017). The framework was strengthened by weaving thinner poles in and out of the main foundation poles. Then grass and reed would be used for thatching the entire hut. Thatch was bound in a lattice pattern by plaited rope. There were additional structures such as Seotloana (reed woven fence) used for privacy and security of the homestead. The mod-