Yorubas are descendants of Oduduwa predominantly found in the western part of Nigeria. They are also in Togo and Benin Republic. Descendants of the Yoruba are also in parts of the Caribbean and South America, as a result of the slave trade. The Yoruba speak Èdè Yorùbá ( Yoruba Language). The Yoruba language is spoken…
Venda is part of the Limpopo province in South Africa. In 1973 Venda was granted self-government and in 1979 it was granted independence. The United Nations Security Council condemned the homelands policy as a strategy of the South African government’s to further apartheid and Venda was not recognised as an independent country by the…
The Ndebele people are broadly divided into Northern and Southern Ndebele. The Northern Ndebele people are in Zimbabwe and Botswana, while the Southern Ndebele are in South Africa (Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo provinces). Ndebele Art is a popular trademark of the Ndebeles. The Ndebele women are usually artistic, creating and painting patterns on their houses….
Xhosa comes from the name of the first Xhosa king called uXhosa. The amaXhosa are mostly in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa. The Xhosa’s call themselves “AmaXhosa” and speak the language, isiXhosa, the second most spoken language in South Africa after isiZulu. Nelson and Winnie Mandela were Xhosa. Popular Xhosa traditional delicacies…
The Zulus are the largest ethnic tribe in South Africa, mostly in the KwaZulu Natal area. Shaka Zulu (born 1787) was the founder of the Zulu Kingdom in South Africa. He was assassinated by his two half- brothers in 1828. The Zulu people speak the “isiZulu” language. The men wear an apron made of goatskin…
The Basotho Hat is a conical grass woven hat with a distinct topknot. It is also called a Mokorotlo. In the early 1900s the hat was worn by tribal chiefs, who chanted a combat/praise song known as ‘mokorotlo’ while making their way to the chiefs’ court. The hat’s conical shape is said to be inspired…
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 Sefate is by the Basotho people as an everyday blanket. It comes in the Ace and corncob designs. This blanket is worn at all national days and traditional festivities of the Basotho. The blanket carries the national symbols like the crown, crocodile and spears. The crocodile is the totem of the royal Kwena tribe, and…
