Portrait of a Lesotho shepherd, Ntoaesele Mashongoane.
JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images
Set in the music wars of Lesotho, the new novel by the South African author tells of a wandering minstrel whose hit song leads to his downfall.
A masked herdsman in Lesotho.
Edwin Remsberg/The Image Bank via Getty Images
Lesotho’s famo music is known for the use of accordions - and gang violence. In Wayfarers’ Hymns, Zakes Mda explores this tradition.
Clay figurines of musicians, by Samuele Makoanyane.
Kirby Collection, University of Cape Town
Clay figurines of musicians, made in the 1930s, are being exhibited along with a new film of actual musicians playing the traditional instruments.
Tsepo Tshola during the memorial service of Hugh Masekela in 2018.
Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images
Schooled in music through church, he was driven by a fierce sense of belonging to Lesotho where he was born, and neighbouring South Africa.
Tsepo Tshola performs at A Night With Legends Live in Johannesburg in 2020.
Screengrab/Slice Events
For over 50 years Tshola was loved by audiences around the world for his rich baritone voice, which he used to inspire and to speak political truths.
Mary Twala Mhlongo is the star of This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection.
Screengrab/Courtesy Urucu Media
Lesotho’s first-ever entry at the Oscars is a powerful story based on true-to-life events in which a village is to be forcibly evicted to make way for a new dam.