10 things I'm Reading and Listening to for Moshoeshoe's Day
By Matlhabeli Molaoli
In his introduction to Provincializing Europe, Dipesh Chakrabarty laments that the European intellectual tradition is the only one alive in social science. He asks, why is it that so many of us — even those of us who are not European —still argue with folks like Max Weber and Sigmund Freud? We treat the figures of cannon as our contemporaries, their ideas still move around us. All other history is essentially dead.
Especially this week, with all the pomp of Moshoeshoe Day this year, Chakrabarty’s idea of a living history has stayed with me. What if we learned this history, and took this chance every March 11, to resurrect Moshoeshoe? What if we engaged with the story of how our grandmothers made a nation with an eye to glean their wisdom? The folks of 1824 were people with ideas, theories, and practices that we could learn from. They wrestled with questions of im/migration, of creating sustainable ecosystems, of building an economy in regional precarity — many of the same tensions facing us today. What if we continued to walk with them?
One way to help this history live is to read and listen to what others have said about it, especially around Moshoeshoe. It’s interesting to see who has written (or sung) so much of this history and think about why — what silences aren’t we seeing in these archives? If you’re looking for recommendations, this list might be a good starting place:
While he was Senior Archivist at the Lesotho National Archives in 2012, Sebinane Lekoekoe wrote a blog piece titled “The day in memory and honour of King Moshoeshoe I -March 11th.”
Matšela le Dihoba ba re “Mpheng molamu oa ka ha ba leleka Moshoeshoe!” Pina ena ea bona e bitsoang “Moshoeshoe” e ka etsa hore u iphumane u famotse linko, u so ntso phopholetsa ua hau molamu.
Khali Mofuoa’s recent article in The International Journal of Ethical Leadership might be interesting if you want to think about some of Moshoeshoe’s contemporaries. The article, aptly titled “A Mosotho Model of Ethical Leadership” is available here.
In a similar vein, Martin Prozesky wrote “Ethical Leadership Resources in southern Africa's Sesotho-speaking Culture and in King Moshoeshoe I.” It is published in the Journal of Global Ethics and available here.
Relebohile Kabelo wrote a short biography titled “Who is Moshoeshoe I?” on his blog. That and “The Founding of Lesotho” might be a good starting point for sorting out the historical details around 1824.
Thabo Maretlane, the organizer of Moshoeshoe Walk, talked about the 200th commemoration of the nation’s founding in this interview with Newzroom Afrika.
The poetry of Jonathan Larson’s “Thaba Bosiu (Lesotho): Mountain Stronghold in the Night” has stayed with me. May the hope of Thaba Bosiu linger with you too.
A friend recommended Tendai Murahwa’s Saved by the King: A Journey of Self-discovery from Menkhoaneng to Thaba Bosiu. It might be a great way to reflect on the historical and personal stories behind the pilgrimage. Fun fact: Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso wrote the foreword!
Scott Rosenberg’s Promises of Moshoeshoe: Culture, Nationalism and Identity in Lesotho (2008) has been on my to-read list since John Aerni-Flessner mentioned it in Dreams for Lesotho: Independence, Foreign Assistance, and Development (2018).
Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse’s “Thaba Bosiu” is a classic, and rightfully so! The introduction alone makes me nostalgic for my childhood days at Ha Fako.