10 Facts About the Basotho Heritage Blanket

1. In 1860 Europeans gave King Moshoeshoe. I. of Lesotho Kingdom a woolen blanket as a gift. The king was so delighted with the blanket that he abandoned the leopard skin he usually wore for it.

2. In 1897 when Queen Victoria visited Basuto land, she presented a blanket as gift to King Lerotholi Letsie. The blanket was named “Victoria England” and as a result became a symbol of status. The Victoria England is the oldest of the Basotho blanket brands.

3. The characteristic pinstripe on the Basotho blanket was originally a weaving mistake. This pinstripe has now become a symbol of growth and determines how the blanket should be worn (traditionally the pinstripe should be vertical).

4. The corn cob is the most commonly used symbol on the different brands of the Basotho heritage blankets, particularly the Seana Marena, Sefate, and Poone. It is a symbol of fertility and wealth.

5. Basotho blankets are manufactured from wool (at least 90% wool) making them very effective in protecting the wearer from the wind, cold and rain. Especially during the cold winter months, when the mountains are covered with snow.

6. The blankets are fire-resistant, and it’s good they are since open fires are used widely in Basotho.

7. The very first blankets were white, smeared with red ochre.

8. Babies are carried on their mother’s backs with the Basotho blankets fastened to keep them in place.

9. Other cultural uses of the blanket are: a husband presents his new wife with a wedding blanket,  the wife ties the blanket around her waist to “keep warm”, in preparing to conceive. After babies are born they are wrapped in special blankets. When boys reach the age of manhood, they wear particular blankets. Special guests can also be given blankets, and the tradition of wrapping corpses with blankets hasn’t been done away with.

10. Aranda Textiles is the sole manufacturer of the Basotho blankets.