Religion

  In Pre-colonial times, the Basotho people worshiped the balimo, the ancestor spirits. They believed that the spirits had power to punish those who disobeyed laws and the customs of society, and that the balimo can bring misfortune and illness to the community if one disobeys the spirits. Their religion was shaped by their environment in that they are so isolated from others that they were somewhat on their own to develop their worship for a time, and greatly relied on each other rather than outside influences.

 

The religion of the Ibo is very similar to the worship of the Basotho. They both relied heavily on the ancestor spirits throughout daily life and also had certain people who were able to channel the spirits and talk to them through dreams and visions. However there are also a few variations between the two religions. The Ibo had many gods whom they worshipped along with the ancestor spirits, whereas there is no mention of the Basotho having any direct gods whom they rely on. The Ibo tribes also made many sacrifices to their gods and ancestors, and the Basotho appear to not take part in sacrificial ceremonies.

 

The Basotho were never colonized like many other African tribes had been, including the Ibo. The Basotho actually appealed to Great Britain in the mid-1800s for help and protection during civil unrest. The kingdom of Lesotho, where the Basotho reside in, is not a British colony. However, they have a deep reverence and a strong relationship with the royal family. They have their own independent religion still, yet some have accepted their British friends’ Christianity. There was no crusade or forcing of this like in Things Fall Apart, and anyone who is accepting of Christianity is fully by choice. The British influence of their religion is from the result of imperialism, which is the domination of culture over another. (Imperialism lecture Rose House 1/8).

 

As of now, 90% of the Basotho claim to be Christian, most of them being Roman Catholic. However many have combined and intertwined the original religion of the worship of the balimo along with practices of Christianity. There are also claims of ties with Anglican and Lesotho Evangelical Church, but Evangelical Christians are often ridiculed and scoffingly called the bapalosoa, “the saved ones”. Clergy frequently use fear and intimidation to keep people away from the evangelistic services, consequently, growth among evangelicals has been slow.

(Evidence of PERSIA Rose House)