The Identity of the Basotho Nation
Wearing blankets represents a long tradition in the Basotho culture. The Basotho people live in Lesotho and South Africa and are known for their blankets and traditional dances. Their blankets are a symbol of their identity, warmth and community. The blanket above is of a traditional design and represents the colours of South African soil and landscape.
Blankets are deeply symbolic items as their designs and patterns are tied to rites of passage, social roles and significant occasions. They are worn at ceremonies, celebrations and everyday life. From birth to death, every phase is marked by blankets.
Babies are presented in blankets, males are given blankets during initiations to mark puberty, brides are wrapped in blankets and given to the groom, widows are draped in a blanket during the “sitting” period before a funeral and blankets can be a respectful covering for a coffin.
The tradition of blankets is thought to have started when a trader, named Howell, presented the King Moshoeshoe with a wool blanket in 1860. He liked it and started wearing it around his shoulders, like a kaross. Kaross were made from animal hides and skins and worn to protect people from the wind and rain in the high altitude regions of the Mountain Kingdom. By the late 19th century millions of cattle and wild animals were wiped out from the rinderpest of the 1890’s thus making kaross hard to produce.
These wool blankets were originally made in Yorkshire, England by Wormald and Walker blanket mills which was then sold to HW Hainsworth. Hainsworth also produced the famous Canadian Hudson’s Bay point blankets. After World War II, 3 brothers (Rodolfo, Alberto and Giulio Magni) from Italy, whose wool factory was destroyed in the war, moved to South Africa and started the Aranda mill. The Aranda mill still belongs to the Magni family today and is the major producers of blankets in South Africa, under the Hainsworth’s Victoria England brand in the UK. Blankets are now made from wool and acrylic.
Like other traditional clothing such as kimonos, Basotho blankets have been modernized and turned into popular fashion items – dresses, capes, jackets.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basotho_blanket
https://www.vogue.com/article/basotho-heritage-blankets
Karen Ridley, May 2025