Blankets have been an important part of the cultural and national identity of the Basotho for over 160 years. They are an integral part of the Basotho culture as reflected in the sayings “bochaba ba Mosotho ke kobo” (the nationality of a Mosotho is the blanket) and “kobo ke bophelo” (the blanket is life). The Basotho have successfully adopted this foreign item and incorporated it into their way of life. They assigned important meanings to the blankets, which represent different milestones and stages of life. In recent years the blankets have also become widely known outside the Sotho culture, because of their appearance on the fashion scene, both locally (Lesotho and South Africa) and globally, as well as in the film Black Panther. The National Museum in Bloemfontein, South Africa, houses an impressive collection of Basotho blankets. The first blankets were acquired in 1991 as part of expanding the Basotho material culture in the National Museum’s Anthropology Collection. More blankets, 40 in total, were later given to the museum on loan for 25 years by the Robertson family. The Robertson collection includes a variety of blankets such as the Batho ba Roma that was made to commemorate Pope John Paul’s visit to Lesotho in 1988, Badges of the Brave that was made to honour those who fought in World War II, and the Seanamarena blanket. This paper explores the blanket tradition within the Basotho culture, highlighting how it endures as a symbol of identity and cultural pride.
Gosiame Goitsemodimo (Mon,) studied this question.