Lehlomela la Thesele le Letle-letle

‘Lehlomela la Thesele le Letle-letle’ was written after the announcement of the marriage of Paramount Chief Constantinus Bereng Seeiso, who had been proclaimed King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho in March 1960, and his wife Khosatsana Tabitha ’Masentle Lerotholi Mojela. The King’s marriage to Khosatsana may have been the pretext for the song but it is as much a praise song for the King himself and for all that his royal presence symbolised to the new country, Lesotho, as it grew out of the old protectorate, Basutoland; hence the metaphor of the ‘sprout’ (lehlomela), which is translated here as ‘shoot’. Thesele itself is a traditional name for the country, Lesotho, often used in connection with the royal family.