King Moshoeshoe Passes On
On 11 March 1870, King Moshoeshoe I, founder and first Paramount Chief of the Basotho nation passed on and was buried on Thaba Bosiu, which he used as a hideout and his subjects after they migrated from Butha-Buthe in 1824 escaping the ravages of the contentious Mfecane or Difaqane Wars.
Moshoeshoe, whose real name was Lepoqo, was born around 1786 at Menkhoaneng in the northern part of present-day Lesotho. He was the first son of Mokhachane, a chief of the Bamokoteli sub-clan of the Basotho people. Following an initiation process that lasted for six months, during which Lepoqo was circumcised, he was taught the customs of his people, military tactics and ancient songs. He also composed praise poetry about himself and received a new name, Letlama, meaning “the Binder/Glue”. Letlama, as the son of the chief, became the leader of the other boys who underwent initiation with him, forming a strong personal bond with each one of them.
Following his graduation from the initiation school, Letlama led his band on a successful cattle raid against Chief RaMonaheng’s village. As was the tradition, Moshoeshoe composed a poem praising himself as “a razor which has shaved all Ramonaheng’s beards”, referring to his successful cattle raids where he captured several herds. In Sesotho, a razor is said to make a “shoe…shoe…” sound, and after that he was affectionately called Moshoeshoe: “the Shaver”.
Moshoeshoe and his followers, most
