LESOTHO: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

 

My entire life I’ve been pronouncing this country wrong. And I’m so sorry. Before the age of the Internet, we just pronounced it like how most Midwesterners would pronounce it: “le-SO-tho.” But apparently, it’s actually pronounced “le-SOO-too.” So, now you know. Hopefully, you won’t spend 36 years of your life living in the dark like I was.

The name Lesotho means “the land of the people who speak Sesotho.” Basotho refers to the people of Lesotho. I saw this kind of name construction when I covered Botswana (Botswana refers to the land; Batswana is the people there; Setswana is their language). It makes sense because the two languages are in the same language group. 

Lesotho is a landlocked enclave in the middle of the country of South Africa. It roughly lies between the South African cities of Blomfontein and Durban and south of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Lesotho is only one of four countries that are completely within another country (the others are Monaco inside France; and San Marino and Vatican City inside Italy). The country lies in the Drakensburg and Maloti Mountain ranges, making it the only independent country lying completely above 1400 m (4593 ft). Because of this, it tends to have cooler temperatures than other areas around it. 

  

The earliest people, the Basotho, came to Lesotho during the Bantu migration. They ran into troubles, especially with the Zulu tribes who were also displaced, but there were also many years of peace as well. Lesotho as we know it came to be in 1822 and was under the guidance of King Moshoeshoe I (pronounced “muh-shway-shway”). They were still fighting with the Zulu at this point. At the same time, their country (which was known as Basutoland during this time) was on edge because of the fighting between the English and Dutch settlers in South Africa. French missionaries were the first to transcribe the Sesotho language. As the Boers who settled in South Africa moved farther inland, there were many disputes as to who owned the land they were claiming. The British, the Dutch, and the Basotho were pretty much all against each other (and the British lost a couple of skirmishes and battles to the Basotho). After several years of fighting with the Boers, King Moshoeshoe I finally pleaded with Queen Victoria for help, in turn becoming a British protectorate. After signing a deal with the Boers, Lesotho lost nearly half of its land, leaving its borders as we know it today. The British also moved the capital from Thaba Bosiu to Maseru. They continued to have their skirmishes with the British, but in 1966, the Basutoland gained its independence, and the Kingdom of Lesotho was born. As the first elections took place, it would be the beginning of several long decades of shifts of political power and people not relinquishing the powers they had, and fighting among political parties about it. There were several times since their independence when they had to deal with military coups or rioting destroyed part of the city and people died.

 

The capital city is Maseru, a city on northwestern border of Lesotho. Although it is Lesotho’s largest city, it only has roughly 228,000 people (about the size of Baton Rouge, Louisiana). The name Maseru stems from a Sesotho word meaning “red sandstones.” Although many buildings have been rebuilt and upgraded since the late 1990s, tourism remains to be a struggling area, mostly likely due to its moderately unstable political scene. There are only a handful of hotels, and casinos are included in a couple of them. Setsoto Stadium is a popular place that hosts soccer games (sorry, I mean football) and other athletic events. 

  

The majority of Lesothans work in agriculture in some capacity. A significant portion of their economy comes in the form of remittances from abroad. And although Lesotho has coveted natural resources in water and diamonds, most of the people who live here live under the global standard of poverty and the country suffers from a low Human Development Index. However, some of the world’s largest diamonds have been discovered in Lesothan mines, and a number of international textile and garment companies have factories in Lesotho, but it’s not reaching the people. Lesotho has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the world, and I’m sure this is significantly affecting their work force. 

  

The vast majority of people in Lesotho practice some denomination of Christianity, pretty much evenly divided between Protestant and Catholic. Indigenous religions as well as religions from other areas (Buddhist, Hindu, Bahá’í, Muslim) are also commonly found throughout Lesotho. 

Sesotho (or sometimes written as Sotho) is the national and official language of Lesotho, used in business and government. Because of the country’s history with Britain, English also remains as an official administrative language. 

  

Lesotho is one of the world’s highest countries. Its altitude has much to do with its culture: one of their cultural clothing items is a brightly colored blanket. Their conical grass hats (called mokorotlo) are so iconic, it’s on their flag. The highest pub in Africa is located in Lesotho. Many travelers who stop there come to see the mountain views and especially the Sani Pass. Lesotho not only has influences on its culture from various southern African cultures, but also from British, Dutch (Boers), and Indian/Asian influences. I’m excited about this meal for one reason: I get to buy rooibos tea.

Up next: art and literature

GUINEA: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Guinea has recently made the news in a big way. It was one of three countries (along with Sierra Leone and Liberia) that were hit hard with the Ebola epidemic this year.  Although the situation seems to be fluctuating, the CDC in the US still lists these three countries under a Code Red Travel Advisory (as of last month). This outbreak actually started in Guinea and spread to the neighboring countries. So far, it’s estimated over 1500 people have died in Guinea alone from this horrible disease.

The name Guinea came from the Portuguese who were patrolling and exploring (and claiming) lands around West Africa during the 1500s. The Portuguese called this area Guiné, referring to the lands inhabited by the Guineus south of the Senegal River, as opposed to the people living in the lands north of the Senegal River who were called Moors or Azenegues.

The country of Guinea is in West Africa, surrounded by the countries of Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d’Ivoire to the southeast, Liberia and Sierra Leone to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The country is made up of four distinct regions: the Basse-Coté lowlands, the mountainous Fatou-Djallon (this area tends to be cooler, and these mountains are the source of the Niger River, the Gambia River, and the Senegal River), the Sahelian Haute-Guinea (the largest region of the country), and the jungle-laden Forested Region of the southeast. 

This area was controlled by many different empires in its early history: the Ghana Empire, followed by the Sosso Kingdom, and then the Mandinka Mali Empire, followed by the most successful one, the Songhai Empire who eventually fell to the Moroccans, but it ended up splitting into many smaller kingdoms. Then the Europeans arrived, and this area was eventually divided up between different countries to handle: the French (Guinea), the British (Sierra Leone) and the Portuguese (Guinea-Bissau) and Liberia (which was founded by freed slaves from the United States). Guinea remained under French rule from around 1898 to 1958 (known as French Guinea during that time) when they declared their independence and set Sékou Touré as Guinea’s first president.  Guinea was the first African country to break from French rule. They eventually broke ties with France and aligned themselves with Russia and China.  The political situation in Guinea was periods of one coup after another with delayed elections and general civil unrest. Even as recent as 2010, Guinea was experiencing coups, and large protests in the streets took place just last year.

The capital of Guinea is Conakry, a city on the island of Tombo, but the population has grown so much, the city has spilled over onto the Kaloum Peninsula on the mainland. It’s the largest city in the country, and it’s estimated that nearly two million people live here – roughly a quarter of the population.  Conakry suffers from problems with its infrastructure: power shortages and cuts in water have angered many of the residents, resulting in protests and public outrage. However, the city is home to several hospitals, universities, parks, museums, and open-air markets that are popular to visit.

Guinea’s economy is mostly dependent on its bauxite mining. When bauxite is refined, it becomes alumina, which is then smelted into aluminum.  They also have a large reserve of high-grade iron ore as well as an unestimated source of uranium.  Guinea has contracts with Russian, Ukrainian, Australian mining companies (Rio Tinto, an Australian mining company, also has a contract with a Chinese mining company. Rio Tinto just made the news a couple weeks ago in the US because Congress just signed a deal giving sacred Native American land over to Rio Tinto to mine as it pleases. It’s a horrible move; I’ll be interested to watch this story develop, but it’ll most likely not be reported on ever again.) Guinea also has sizable diamond (most are 90% gem quality) and gold mining ventures as well. There has been some oil drilling exploration in Guinea in recent years, but infrastructure problems in the country tends to plague both domestic life and business in Guinea.

The vast majority of Guineans are Muslim (about 85%). Of those, the majority are Sunni, with influences of Sufism and Ahmadiyya. A small number of Christians are also found in the country, mostly Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are also a small number of Baha’i, Hindus, and Buddhists in Guinea as well. Like other West African countries, there are many people who practice indigenous beliefs as well as either Islam or Christianity.

The official language in Guinea is French, which is used in the government and in education.  However, because Guinea is a multi-ethnic country, there are many local languages spoken in the home. Fula (also called Pular), Malinké (also called Maninka), Susu, Kissi, Kpelle (called Guerzé in French), and Toma are some of the most common indigenous languages spoken in Guinea and have been given a national language status.

Guinea has many interesting things about it. But I can’t help but asking this one question: what about Guinea pigs? I found out they are neither pigs nor from Guinea. They’re actually rodents from the Andes in South America, and there are a few theories about where the Guinea part came from (one theory is that these animals arrived in Europe via Guinea, and Europeans assumed they came from Guinea). Guinea has a rich musical history but one of the lowest literacy rates in Africa. Guinea’s cuisine is similar to many others in the region, and a couple of the recipes I chose are some that I’ve made similar dishes already, but these are with a Guinean flair. They were good the first time, and I’m sure these will be good as well.

Up next: art and literature

BOTSWANA: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Botswana is far more than the nature parks and game reserves that spread across most of the northern part of the country, although that is a large part of it. The flat landscape of the Kalahari Desert takes up around 70% of the land in Botswana. In fact, the nickname and symbol for Botswana is the zebra. Because of this, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world: it’s almost like taking all of the people out of the state of Texas, except for the residents of the city of Houston.  The country borders South Africa (using the Limpopo River as a border for some of the way), Namibia, and Zimbabwe (sharing a border with the Zambezi River part of the way), and a really tiny technical border with Zambia (from what I can tell on Google Maps). It's the only place in the world where four countries come together.

The area was originally inhabited by the Tswana peoples, and tensions arose when other tribes started making their ways in the northern sections of the country. On top of all that, Dutch Boers also started making their way inland from the Transvaal into Botswana as well. Finally after a number of appeals, the British put the area under their protection in 1885 and called it the Bechuanaland Protectorate (which is why English is one of the official languages, along with Setswana). The northern part eventually became what we know as Botswana today, and the southern area where many of the Setswana speakers lived became part of South Africa. Botswana later gained independence from Britain in 1966, and started out as one of the poorest countries, but quickly changed that for the better.

The origin of the word Botswana is interesting to me. The name of the main ethnic group, Tswana, is the base word. The prefix bo- is added to it to indicate the “land of.” Following in that fashion, the prefix ba- means “the people (plural)” as in Batswana; mo- means “a person (singular)” as in Motswana; and se- means “the language or culture of” as in Setswana.  Even though in English language print, “Botswanan” is usually used to describe its people and things from the country. I found it interesting that their currency is called pula, which is also the Setswana word for "rain." It's also their motto.

Botswana makes a lot of their revenue in uncut diamonds. (Debswana is the largest diamond mining industry in Botswana, yet it’s half-owned by the government. That would never fly in the US.) They have also found large deposits of uranium as well as gold, copper, and oil.

Botswana and southern Africa is thought to be the origin of watermelons. It traveled north through trade, and 

Africans brought watermelons and watermelon seeds along with them to North and South America and the Caribbean via the slave trade. While it’s a terrible reason how it got here, I’m really glad they brought this with them.

One of the biggest problems facing Botswana today is the high prevalence of AIDS, which affects life expectancy and other economic factors. The estimated rate from 2006 was that nearly 24% of adults suffered from either AIDS or HIV.  However, Botswana also has a comprehensive plan to combat it by giving its citizens access to free or cheap generic anti-retroviral drugs that they need. Part of this program is to pass on information that is critical to stopping the spread of the disease, thanks in part to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Merck Foundation and several other organizations for helping to fund this program to make this happen. I’m sure they will see increases in life expectancy and other economic improvements in the years to come.

It’s also the setting for the famous books by Scottish writer Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. In the US, it was broadcast as a mini-series on HBO a couple of years ago starring Jill Scott (love her music!) and Anika Noni Rose (who did the voice of Tiara in The Princess and The Frog).  I just got disk 1 off of Netflix and watched the pilot episode last night. Since it was filmed entirely in Botswana and in its capital Gaborone, the opening shots showed wonderful views of the beauty of the land. I highly recommend it, even only after one episode.

My initial research on Botswana has intrigued me on many levels. I had some small pre-knowledge about this area, only in general, but I’m hoping that I can draw connections and fill in gaps on the culture of this country.

Up next: Holidays and Celebrations