The sandstone peaks of QwaQwa

SETSO · OUR HERITAGE

The way our elders taught us.

Customs of the Basotho of QwaQwa, from birth to the grave, recorded from the elders who keep them. Where families do it differently, we write down both.

  1. 1
    Told by elders

    Recorded in Sesotho, in their own words. Every entry names who told it, and from which village.

  2. 2
    Confirmed by a panel

    A panel of elders and the chiefs' councils reads it before it goes up. Nothing is published on one voice alone.

  3. 3
    Open to correction

    If your family does it differently, tell us. The panel discusses it, and the page shows both ways.

From birth to the ancestors

BOPHELO BA MOSOTHO

TSWALO

Birth

When a baby is born: the first days at home Being recorded Bringing the baby out Being recorded Naming the child Being recorded

LENYALO

Marriage

The first visit to ask for a bride Planned Bohadi: the negotiations Planned Welcoming the bride into the family Planned

LEFU LE LEPATO

Death and the funeral

The order at the grave: putting in soil Being recorded When someone passes: the first night Being recorded Mourning clothes and the mourning period Being recorded After the burial: returning home Planned

BOPHELO BA LETSATSI

Everyday life

Greeting and respecting elders Planned Diboko: clan names and praises Planned Respect between in-laws Planned

Some things are not written here.

Lebollo and other sacred matters belong to those who keep them. The elders decide what may be shared, and we do not publish the rest. If you think something here should not be public, tell us and we take it down while the panel looks at it.

Ask us to take something down

Does your family do it differently?

Record an elder of your own and send it to the panel. Their words are kept with their name on them, for the children of QwaQwa.

Record an elder Send a recording