HISTORY, CULTURE & WALKING TRAILS

Monday - Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sundays: 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Morija Museum & Archives was formally constituted in 1956, as a result of the discovery of important dinosaur remains. These fossilised dinosaur bones, about 180 million years old, open up to us a whole new understanding of the earth and the vast transformations that have taken place over the ages: continental drift, the evolution of plant and animal species, human kind's rather recent but dramatic entrance upon the scene and its growing impact on the ecosystem. This ecological impact has been far-reaching in Lesotho, where fragile soils and intensive pressure on the land during the last 125 years have led to extensive land degradation.

By contrast, the early human communities that lived a purely nomadic hunter-gatherer existence (until about 8 000 years ago) made little long-term impact on the environment. But these communities, however, gradually learned to plant crops, domesticate animals, forge iron and build more complex societies, which did eventually make significant impacts on the environment.

The museum displays samples of hunter-gatherer cultural material including early stone tools, weapons and San rock art. The beauty and vitality of the paintings and their rich symbolism and imagery help us to understand hunter-gatherers as fellow human beings, striving for wholeness although under circumstances very different from our own.

Visitors to the museum will also find a girdle of eggshell beads, called 'moletsa', made by the San, This girdle demonstrates the changing fauna in the country; ostriches are now extinct in Lesotho, yet when Moshoeshoe and the French missionary Casalis rode south from Morija to Boleke in 1833, they encountered herds of antelope and ostrich so thick that they had difficulty in passing. The girdle also reveals the sophisticated technology of the San and the fact that there was some peaceful interaction between the San and the Sotho speaking peoples.

This interaction is well illustrated by Chief Moletsane of the Bataung (People of the Lion), who became an important ally of Moshoeshoe. Moletsane was raised at the end of the 18th century by San herdsmen at the outlying cattle post of his father in order to escape the fate of his two elder siblings. Both had died young - their deaths being attributed to the malevolent work of the ancestors. His original name, Makhothi, became Moletsane, after the eggshell girdle that he was given by the San. Moletsane and other important leaders, such as Moorosi of the Baphuthi, maintained close relations with the San well into the latter half of the 19th century.

It was during the turbulent times of the 19th century - the incursion of whole chiefdoms onto the highveld and the domination of Shaka (this period is known as the Lifaqane), marauding bands of Griqua and other mixed peoples who fled the Cape, followed by hunters, missionaries, traders, Boer settlers and the British - that Moshoeshoe emerged as a unifying force. He was a minor chief of little standing, yet rose to unite many disparate and desperate people into what is now known as the Basotho nation.

Moshoeshoe, fluent in both Sotho and Nguni languages, was well placed to unite large numbers of Nguni into the new Basotho nation after 1820. Beautiful examples of Nguni beadwork, still made in Lesotho, can be found in the museum's exhibits. There is also an exquisite clay sculpture, made by a more recent descendent of Moshoeshoe's famous general, Makoanyane, who was also of Nguni origin.

When marauders from the West appeared in Lesotho, in the dying days of the Lifaqane, Moshoeshoe invited the missionaries to assist him in his nation building. The Morija Archives possess rare and valuable records from this period, including hand-written letters transcribed by Casalis and signed by Moshoeshoe. When the Regent, Chieftainess 'Mantsebo' (who reigned in Basutoland from 1941-1960) visited the Archives in the Fifties, her hands literally shook when she held this correspondence. And well they should have, for Lesotho would probably not exist had it not been for Moshoeshoe's bold and imaginative leadership.

What do the values and historical lessons from Moshoeshoe's period mean to us today? Do we understand the radical message and wisdom that he and his mentor, Mohlomi, have bequeathed to us? Even during his lifetime, Moshoeshoe’s followers frequently misunderstood him. As we struggle to establish a political authority in Lesotho today that's based upon consensus and democratically shared values, it may well be necessary to cater more fully for our own traditions and evolving social formation.

The challenge before us

Our cultural and scientific traditions must be presented and interpreted in a 'living' way, so that everyone can enter into this dynamic history. Guided tours of museum exhibits, lectures and seminars, publications, video productions, theatre and other media are part of this process.

With this end in mind, the Morija Museum publishes a range of books and periodicals, assists researchers and edits manuscripts, interacts with radio/TV producers and networks with other educational and cultural institutions. The Museum also serves as a centre from which visitors can access the wider range of activities in the Morija area.

The Museum would like to become even more interactive and useful, but at present it has only one medium-sized exhibition room and a narrow display hall, both of which are rather full. There is not enough room to properly contextualise individual artefacts and relate their full meaning and significance. Nor does the museum possess the wherewithal to make multi-media videos, for example, that would enrich the experience of visitors by exploring historical, cultural and scientific themes. But as it moves into Phase II of its development plan, these shortcomings will be addressed.

At Morija Museum we do not want to offer to the visitor the curious and the odd; neither do we want to be proponents of a dead, idealised or static traditionalism. Instead, we have a vision of working as co partners with other educational, cultural and media groups who also seek to interpret the past in a way that is relevant to the present and the future.