The Bronx Journal-September 2000
Cities of the World
Africa for All Seasons
Maseru
The Lesotho capital of Maseru was founded in March 1869. At that time
Lesotho asked Queen Victoris that it become a protectorate and Maseru
was founded as the Governor’s headquarters.
Maseru lies in the lowlands of Lesotho and borders the Caledon River
on the western side of Lesotho. Is is a garden city with a large amount
of trees in their parks and homes that give a very natural beauty to the
city. The other buildings, most of them built out of sandstone, are the
other typifying component of Maseru. The name derives from the two
sandstone outcrops that are in the center of the capital. Maseru means
the place of the red sandstone.
Since 1996, when Lesotho became independent, Maseru has changed,
modern multistoreyed buildings have been combined with the od colonial
sandstone structuresd, but even the modern buildings feature decorative
sandstone elements.
The business and shopping center of Maseru is Kingsway which displays
a mixture of traditional African life and modern western elements. It is
not unusual to find a group of blanketed Basotho riders in the midst of
heavy traffic or to have traditional craftmen manufacturing their wares
in front of a modern office block.
Origin of Lesotho
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About Maseru
Capitol of Lesotho Kingdom
Completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa.
Population: 1,885,000
Langauge: Two official languages: Sesotho and English
Religion: Cristians Islamic
Weather: More than 300 days a year of brilliant sun
shine. Summer extends from November to January. |
Long before the occupation of Lesotho by man, long before the jagged
blue basaltic mountain ranges were thrown up by the terrible seismic
activities deep within the earth, Lesotho was a fairly flat, sandy and
arid land, interspersed with inland lakes and waterways.
This was a dinosaur country, the home of a whole range of fantastic
pre_historic creatures whose abundant fossil remains and footprints now
make Lesotho and adjacent areas a prime target of scientists interested
in the evolution of life on earth.
It may also have been these footprints which helped to inspire the
famous local legend of Kholumo_lumo, a huge creature which is said to
have eaten the entire human race, only to be slain by a brave young man
called Senkatana.
The dinosaurs and many other early forms of life disappeared millions
of years ago. The mountains were then thrown uo violently, after which
the natural process of erosion and weathering created the table top
plateaux, peaceful hills, beautiful vallerys and spectacular waterfalls
which now characterize Lesotho.
With a low point of more than 1,000 meters, and a high point of mkre
than 3,400 meters, Lesotho is the watershed of Southern Africa and the
source of most of its largest rivers. Within this paradise lived the
lion, leopard, hippo, buffalo, the eland and numerous species of
antelopes, baboons, hyenas, as well as ostrich and many bird species.
So also there flourished in this pleasing land of temperate climate
various forms of grasses, indigenous trees and bushes, pink and white
cosmos, and redhot pokers, to name a few. Man entered this unspoiled
paradise relatively late.
For at least 25,000 years, nomadic hunter gatherers lived and
prospered in the mountains and valleys of what is presently Lesotho.
These people, whose descendants are known today as the San or Baroa,
livedf over the entire sub_continent and were able to adapt themselves
to all of its various eco_systems. Sehong_hong, deep in the mountains of
Lesotho, is noted bith as a site of great antoquity used by these hunter
gatherers, and the last home of independent San clans in Lesotho before
their eventual demnise in the 1980s.
These early inhabitants of Lesotho have left thousands of beautiful
rock paintings scattered throughout the land as evidence of their long
occupation in the area. Many of these paintings are full of symbolic
messages, and seem to have been composed by shamans under the influence
of trance dreams and mystical experiences.
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