Uncovering the Spiritual Dimension of the Basotho Objection to Resettlement

Experience shows that Africans are often, if not always, opposed to landrelated projects which include resettlement as one of their concomitanteffects. One project that has recently met this kind of opposition from someof the local people in Lesotho is the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Thisis the project aimed at harnessing the water resources of the Highlandsof Lesotho to the mutual benefit of both Lesotho and South Africa. Thispaper attempts to look at what spiritually may be taken as what underliessuch opposition. The paper argues that underlying the Basotho’s refusal tobe resettled is the fact that for Africans there is more to land than appearson the surface. It attempts to explain this in terms of African holisticcosmology. The paper argues specifically that Basotho’s veneration of theirancestors’ graveyards, the dependence of the living upon their ancestorsfor their material welfare, and the Basotho’s traditional healers’ mysticalidentification with some aspects of nature, all of which give the spiritualvalue to the land, are the source of the problem

The Impact of Basotho Cultural Beliefs on Sustainable Crop Production in Lesotho

Several researchers have written on the situation of agriculture in Lesotho. Common to all of them is the observation that there has been a decline in food production in Lesotho. While the earlier researchers attribute this condition to migrant labour problem, the recent ones blame it upon the Basotho’s failure to use yield-boosting factors such as insecticides, herbicides, disease resistant cultivars and other crop protection technologies. While it is true that the above mentioned issues may have played their role in retarding agricultural production in Lesotho, this paper argues that there are other unobtrusive factors whose influence is as equally pernicious to sustainable agriculture in Lesotho. The paper singles out certain cultural aspects, which it believes play a significantly retarding role in food production. Having identified these aspects, it sets out to explore ways by which these hamper both crop production and land productivity. Some recommendations are made at the end

African Gifts of the Spirit: Pentecostalism & the Rise of a Zimbabwean Transnational Religious Movement by David Maxwell (Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2006) – XI + 250 pp., ISBN 13:978-0-8124-1738-6, Paperback.

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Traces of Snake Worship in Basotho Culture

Ophiolatreia is a universal phenomenon found in almost all ancient societies.This study is an attempt to establish that even in Southern Africa, ophiolatreiais traceable. Using intertextuality and phenomenology as its methods ofapproach, the study analyses Molutsoane, Lesokoana and Mokete oa Molula,the three well-known Basotho cultural ways of praying for rain. A criticalanalysis of these three shows that the ancient Basotho did address some oftheir prayers to a water snake as the object of their worship. According tosome of the Basotho cultural practices such as initiation rite and theinformation one gets from some of the Basotho myths, this water snake isnot only the source or the giver of water but it also gives fertility to women. Asthe giver of rain, the snake is called Tlhahla-macholo and the Creator, as thegiver of fertility

African Sexual Vulnerability to HIV Infection: Examples from Lesotho.

In an attempt to adequately respond to and redress the velocity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, many countries of the world have embarked on intensive education and research programmes in pursuit of the most effective strategies and methods of prevention, care, mitigation and a possible cure. Successful as some of the strategies might have claimed in some parts of the world, in reducing the spread of HIV and AIDS, their impact has not been felt that much in many of the African countries where the infection rate continues to rise, reaching its crisis proportions. Though the factors that promote the HIV/AIDS pandemic are multifarious, this paper, however, proposes that certain African cultural factors, which are unique to Africa such as those associated with human sexuality, might be related to its persistence in the Continent. It is generally held that over 90% of the HIV infection cases in Africa take place through the exchange of sexual fluids. For this reason, the paper examined the ‘African sense of human sexuality' as an important index in Africans' vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. African Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology and Sport Facilitation Vol. 10 2008: pp. 113-12

The Role of the Christian Church in the fight against HIV and AIDS: Beyond Self-righteousness and Empty Words of Prayer.

More than twenty years after AIDS was medically discovered, it has become clear that it is more than just a medical issue. It has pervaded all spheres of human life. With its spread gaining momentum each day and its immense impact growing unmanageable in Southern Africa, AIDS has become a real threat to the lives of the people of this region. Informed by Christ's attitude towards those who suffered and the marginalized as recorded in the Christian Scriptures, this paper argues that the Christian churches in Africa, which holds the largest numbers of people living with HIV and AIDS, must abandon their “holier than thou” attitude and try to adopt a more forthright and compassionate attitude in their engagement with HIV and AIDS if, they are to remain true to their call as messengers of the Good News to the troubled world. The paper further identifies several critical areas in which the Christian churches may make a difference if they can all mobilize their resources. International Journal of Emotional Psychology and Sport Ethics Vol. 10 2008: pp. 123-13