Mabeoana

Mohapeloa wrote ‘Mabeoana’ (Young Warriors) in the early 1930s, publishing it in Morija in 1935 as song No. 20 of 32 in his first song collection, Meloli le Lithallere tsa Afrika. It was composed in the style of a modern African anthem with the text refering to two great Basotho clans, the Mabeoana and the Mokoena and their Chief, Kali. It compares today’s youth (unfavourably) with heroes of the past and is a lament for lost glory. The Caledon River, mentioned in the text, is the western border between Lesotho and South Africa, flowing through an area where the Basotho suffered great losses of land during the colonial struggles of the 19th century. The deeper meaning of the text towards the end of the song is not clear.