Moshanyana, Se Llele ho Lisa

Mohapeloa first published ‘Moshanyana, Se Llele ho Lisa’ in Meloli le Lithallere tsa Afrika ka J.P. Mohapeloa: Buka ea Bobeli (African Songs and Extemporary Harmonizations by J.P. Mohapeloa: Book II) in 1939. The song addresses the way Basotho men typically spend much of the year tending flocks, moving them from one grazing place to another. Wear a blanket thrown over their shoulder, a pointed hat and wellington boots, and carrying a stout stick, herdsmen are still one of the most common sights in Lesotho. Mohapeloa did his own share of herding as a boy and would have sympathised with dread of the severe Lesotho winters. As his brother remembers, Pulumo learned how to draw water with a sponge made of grass ropes and knit hats out of wool and grass, and so it is not surprising, therefore, that “Basotho ways, old and new, that he learned from home, at school, herding, doing different kinds of jobs, are evident in many of his songs” (Mohapeloa and Phakisi 1987 – the back page of score gives this source).