Methaka, Emang

Mohapeloa wrote ‘Methaka, Emang’ in the late 1920s or early 30s, publishing it in Morija in 1935 as song No. 7 of 32 in his first song collection, Meloli le Lithallere tsa Afrika. It chronicles a common human experience – parting from friends – but among Basotho the song may particularly refer to the departure of young people from the tiny, landlocked kingdom of Lesotho to seek work in surrounding South Africa, often on the mines of the Witwatersrand. ‘Methaka’ is scored for five voices (SAATB) with Tenors subdividing in bars 17-24 and 33-40 to make six voices periodically, and the composer writes in a lively, hocketing style to convey a sense of the excitement, jostling and general ‘upset’ around any departure, particularly one made (as often happened in Mohapeloa’s day) by train.