Basotho Hat-Mokorotlo

I have been making my country known to the world.

One of the most important aspects is housing and clothing. The part I would like to highlight is the similarity between the Basotho hats and houses.

First and foremost, our house used to be build from tree branches, mud and/stones. The roof used to be that of thatch.

Thatched roof was always excellent for it insulating nature, and availability of roofing grass. The thread used to knit through the grass was also made from grass called moseha.

Moseha is a type of grass found in the mountain ranges, it is strong and very flexible, even when dry. It is made into a rope and placed in water to soften, then sometimes smeared with animal fat to keep it soft for longer.

This same grass is used to make our Basotho hats. The hands are made by hands and designed as wished by the maker.

The designs are on a wider range to suit the unique desire of the maker and the buyer. The picture above and the two below were taken live from a display by some manufactures and sellers of Grass hats. These are made from grass completely.
The coloured ones are made from colored grass found in the mountains also.

The design of the Basotho hat (Mokorotlo) was taken after Qiloane, a mountain in Maseru, Lesotho http://ls.geoview.info/lesotho_qiloane_hill_mokorotlo_shape_may_00,40213889p It, Mokorotlo, is also used in our national flag, and many use the symbol as embroidering on casual clothing for various purposes.

There are several houses that evoke this design in their roofing. They do differ from house to house These pics were taken from Mokorotlong, Maseru.

There is a lot more to discuss, and I will gather pictures to tell you more.