---Lesotho my beginning, Lesotho my ending! I will love these mountains with their deep-etched valleys. These green pastures where natures beauty overflows. Lesotho my beginning, Lesotho my ending! I will love you and your people, these brothers and sisters that reside in my mothers land---
This is an observation piece. Getting
sometime out from your own people gives one some perspective, it broadens ones
view on life and enlarges your frame of reference. It allows you to experience
other cultures, their values and belief systems but most importantly it allows
you to benchmark the progress of your own on a much wider scale.
For the past few months I have been
on an observation trip, I have put my psychology cap on and been studying the
characteristics of the Basotho people. I have been listening in on
conversations I shouldn’t be, watching people I have never met and spoken to
individuals I hardly look at twice. In these months, I have analyzed my people
and although I am not done with this project of mine as yet, I have reached my
conclusion…and it is that- Ho na le Basotho ba likoata!!
And by koata I do not refer to this
term in the traditional blanket wearing, hit-stick carrying sense. I use the
term ‘koata’ in the broadest sense as you will find out once you read on. I
used to think likoata ke batho ba likoto le melamu, likobo hara mecheso kapa batho
ba hae koana, boy was I wrong.
I have come to understand and even
accept that there are men and women of the highest calibre who occupy the most
prominent positions in this country empa e le likoata. There is also a flock of
graduates let out by some of the top institutions who walk around these streets
in all the bokoata they can master.
Hee Lesotho le tletse likoata hleng
beso! Ho na le likoata in the public sector who feel that we are at their mercy
for asking to be served with a smile, likoata that feel like they are doing us
the public a favour by actually doing their jobs. Ho na le likoata that check
in at work at 8am everyday and knock off at 5pm but would never produce a work
plan, progress or monthly report on any given day. Koata tsena are the same
ones that will piss on your hair if you dare interfere with their game of solitaire or hearts, the same kind that will turn you away in a line ha u ka
fihla ten minutes before lunch asking for help. Hela, for the sake of your
sanity, I warn you in kindness fellow Mosotho oa heso to stay clear of koata
tsena cause they master the art of sulkiness and are quick to drain the energy
out of you.
Bathong ho na le likoata Lesotho
mona! Then there are the ones that sit in the private sector and franchise
shops acting like they’ve made it in life. Ho na le koata tse lulang Times mane, Litaleng kapa eona Café 72 from Monday to Monday picking on
girls or waiting to get hit on- talking about how well off they are or how they
only roll with rich men. Tsena tsona li koata are the type to drive a LAND Rover
yet they have a LANDlord. Bari tsena tsona hee are the kind that show-off by
any means necessary, they have credit and bills that run all the way from Thaba
Bosiu and past Menkhoaneng but will still maintain their image around Maseru
hangouts. Koata tsena are quick to spot, they are the ones with the car keys
dangling on their fingers and phones all around the waist lines. Ke ba mona
with the tightest dresses and highest of heels, glossy blood red lips and
weaves getting flicked from side to side. These ones speak of how elite they
are, they look down on the rest of my people, if you’re not a part of them then
koata ke uena to them. This kind of koata knows all the expensive alcohol names
and will only sip on Henney, Chivas Regal or Johnny Black cause they are too legit to be drinking little boy
liquor.
Beso ke re Lesotho le patetsoe ke
lipoko-poko. Koata tsa Maseru ke tse fetang tsa ‘Masemousu. Terotsoana ena ea
heso e tletse mahipi ka li colour blocking le li accent tse mona tse kang motho
o lutsoe ke sekhohlela se sa feleng, ma pantsula ka li dickies le all star tse
lits’ila le li kool kids ka li nerd glasses and personalized t-shirts, acting
like they run this town.
And then there was koata tsa banna
who are stuck in archaic times where women were objects of their affection and
served no better purpose. Tsena tsona likoata are the kind to go around raping
little babies and elderly women. These are the ones that abuse our women, kill
our women and shamelessly speak down on them. Psychopaths, who feel nothing and
do nothing to better the state of our nation. Bathong! Hole tsena would
probably rape men as well if they don’t already…uena hee you are a target
because of your sexuality, you need not mention you are either gay or lesbian
around them cause they will come for you claiming to heal you from the ‘devils’
that ‘possess you’.
Jonna ka mokhoa oo koata tsa heso
li leng ngata ka teng, I will never finish. Fela ho na le tse ling tsa bo ‘m’e,
tse mona tse bitter. Dear God, ho na le bo ‘m’e le bo ausi ba bitter hleng! The
kind that does not want to see anyone succeed more than them or be better
achievers than they are. Koata tsena are the ones that spread the gossip and
love to hate, they are quick to judge and will be the first to tell you about
your nasty ass uncut toe nails or your oddly shaped nose…they know your every
move and are at the forefront of wishing you’d fail in life. Tseke-tseke tsena
tsona hee ha li ts’abe le ho u loea ke bolila bona bo ba ts’oereng. Ke ba mona
ba ratang li ‘haters’ always quick to
give a shout out to them and speak about how they are thankful for those haters
cause they make them better in life. Bana bona will ask for the price tags of
those shoes you got on and will make you feel like a fool for dressing in
bargain items.
E be joale ho na le meqhaka e mona e
ratang bokuli. Is it the actual being sick part they love or is it how they
seek pity? I do not know. I personally think this kind sits at the top of the
likoata hierarchy. They are the ones who will start by saying “Ke tlo ts’oara
ke sefuba hakae fela” and then when the bed binding flu comes they talk about
“Ache ‘na ebe hobaneng ke ratoa ke sefuba tje?” This tribe of likoata enjoys
pity parties and will drag you down with them if you are not too careful…they
enjoy being miserable and will always see the negative in any situation; they
never seize to complain about how horrible everything is and how they would do
a better job than anyone else. Oe! Koata tse!
Nke ke ka qeta hoba joale haeso
Lesotho koata li ngata. Le ha ho le joalo, I still love some of them hoba ke
tsa heso. I still appreciate the flavor they bring into my life and those
around them and I still pray that batla sokoloha bokoateng bona ba bona. Lenna
ke le tjena ke koata ea Lesotho, a proud one-e mona e nahanang e tseba haholo.
Ke mpa ke its’ilisa ka hore haeso ke habo likoata.
Until next post,
Africa Rising, peace & Revolution
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