The Legacy of a Gift

Lesotho’s founder and inaugural King, Moshoeshoe I, received a woolen blanket as a gift. Prior to that, Basotho blankets had been made of animal furs and hides. As the story goes, the King was very fond of his blanket gift and wore it more than the blankets he had before it. The woolen blanket soon became the primary attire of the Basotho nation, and has endured as an important garment right up to modern times.

It is indeed beautifully poetic that the first woolen blanket was a gift, for up to this day, giving or receiving a blanket as a gift is a big deal! While they are available for one to buy in stores across Lesotho; the ones a Mosotho (or anyone near enough to the Basotho culture) values and cherishes the most are those received as gifts. Sporting beautiful, culturally relevant designs, the Basotho blanket is woven into the very DNA of the country.

It is widely accepted as the most formal a Mosotho can wear. Yet utilitarian in versatility, a lot of the blankets vary in colours and they are significant to various parts of the country. The colours, designs and patterns on the blankets have deep meanings and symbolisms… all of the blankets are destined to become heirlooms. 

by Khosi Mokhesi