African throw blankets are more than just coverings; they are vibrant expressions of culture, history, and identity. Among the most iconic are the Basotho Heritage Blankets and the Ndebele beaded wedding blankets, each with its unique story and significance.
The Story of Basotho Heritage Blankets
The long and rich history of the South African blanket began in 1860 when "King Moshoeshoe I" welcomed a blanket gift from a French missionary and draped it 'a la poncho'. It signified the birth in Lesotho of the blanket wearing tradition, and soon after forever replaced the animal skin karosses as the kingdom's primary attire. The Basotho Heritage Blanket has, in many ways, been woven into the fabric of the nation since its very beginnings.
Basotho Heritage Blankets, despite being largely unavailable outside of Africa for their 100-year-plus existence, are of such quality and have such a colorful, storied history. In 1865, Moshoeshoe appealed to Queen Victoria to make Lesotho a British protectorate. When she agreed to his request, he spoke of her “spreading her blanket” of protection over the country.
By 1860 securing sufficient skins for Karosses was increasingly difficult and by 1872 a large majority of sheepskin covers had been replaced by poor quality cotton or wool.[1] The King secured the production of "special blankets" in 1876 after meeting with Scottish textile manufacturer Donald Fraser.
The way that Basotho men wear these traditional blankets is based on the traditional Kaross, an animal skin cloak although their transformation to "factory-woven textile" is attributed to King Moshoeshoe I.
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Key Blanket Designs and Their Meanings
- The Skin design: The Skin design was the first of the Basotho Heritage Blankets and mimics the traditional leopard skin. It was widely adopted during the rinderpest epidemic of the late 1890s, when the native animal population of Southern Africa was decimated.
- The Kharetsa design: features the Maluti, or Spiral Aloe, which is unique to the mountaintops of Lesotho.
- Moholobela: The Moholobela is a fertility blanket worn by young Sotho men in preparation of their transition to manhood.
- Lehlosi: A Chiefly blanket made of patterns from the skin of wild cat or leopards.
- Victorian/ Malakabane: According to a local legend, in 1897 Queen Victoria visited the Lesotho (this did not actually occur). She gave King Lerotholi a gift, which happened to be a blanket. He wore the blanket with elegance, in a manner that represented the Poncho, over his shoulders and there the blanket wearing tradition began. The blanket was named Victoria England.
- Motlatsi: Designed and produced to pay tribute to the birth of Prince Lerotholi.
Mum's blanket honours Basotho Heritage and connects the traditional to Nordic design by Finnish artist and illustrator Laura Gröndah.
What Is The Cultural Significance Of Basotho Blankets? - Art Across Cultures
Basotho Blankets in Popular Culture
In the 2018 films Black Panther and in Avengers: Infinity War, W'Kabi and his tribesmen appear in many scenes wearing what looks like the Basotho blanket.
Ndebele Beaded Wedding Blankets
Another significant type of African throw blanket is the Ndebele beaded wedding blanket. These blankets are made and used by women of the Ndebele tribe, who would receive a blanket on their wedding and add the colourful beaded panels throughout her life, often to mark important life events.
Research has revealed fascinating details about the imagery on these blankets. The buildings depicted are images of the homes of the Ndebele people, which they brightly paint in bold geometric patterns, and the small triangles are electric lights! It was learned that many Ndebele people did not actually have electricity, but the lights were included as an aspiration.
The lettering repeating over the various panels seemed quite curious, as it did not spell any recognisable words, and many of the letters were reversed or appeared to by unfinished or modified versions of letters. Two letters, ‘TP’ repeated three times over the panels, and seemed important to the history of the object. It was discovered that many of the Ndebele women were illiterate, and took shapes and letters they saw around them from billboards and signs and modified them to be visually appealing design elements. Interestingly, ‘TP’ were the first two letters of the car plates from the Praetoria region of South Africa, where the Ndebele people live.
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