Ke mosali oa Mosotho: reflecting on indigenous conceptions of womanhood in Lesotho

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper challenges the invisibilisation and silencing of indigenous conceptions of womanhood in feminist scholarly work. It argues that “Mosotho woman,” as we know it today, is a colonial construct for it is located within and fixed to hetero-patriarchal binarised hierarchies. It further argues for the reflection on historical narratives of women the likes of ‘Manthatisi of the Batlokoa as exceptional representations of precolonial conceptions of womanhood in Lesotho. As we interrogate the current invocations of “woman” in Lesotho, we ought to use these herstories as springboards to understand the silenced indigenous conceptions of bosali (womanhoods) that are not only complex but multifarious and beyond the confines of binarised hetero-patriarchal constructions. Drawing on the narrated life stories of 20 “never-married” women – methepa – the paper discusses boithlompho (self-respect), mosali oa ‘mankhonthe (perseverance), sexual empowerment, and botho (personhood) as underpinning the indigenous definitions of bosali. This paper argues for retrieval, elevation, and continuation of indigenous languages, rituals, and spaces as sources of knowledge and theory on womanhoods in local contexts.