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Mekhoro and Sangomas
Mekhoro are the traditional round houses that are common in Lesotho. The walls are usually made of bricks that are held together with a mixture of sand, soil and dung. The floor consists of a smooth, compact layer of dung and the roof is usually thatched.
Here, a Mosotho man sits in front of his house with a bucket of home-brewed beer in a small village in Botha-Bothe, a rural area in northeastern Lesotho. The remote villages in Lesotho are still very self-sufficient and people are dependent on barter to survive. Colored flags attached to huts or poles indicate that something is being offered, such as meat (red flag), vegetables (green flag) or home-brewed beer (white or yellow flag).
The man dressed in red is a Sangoma, a traditional healer. Traditional healers enjoy great prestige and power in the Basotho culture. They play an important role in health care, but also in performing various rituals. Sangomas are ascribed all sorts of magical powers, such as seeing the future and the ability to talk to ancestors.
Mekhoro and Sangomas
Mekhoro are the traditional round houses that are common in Lesotho. The walls are usually made of bricks that are held together with a mixture of sand, soil and dung. The floor consists of a smooth, compact layer of dung and the roof is usually thatched.
Here, a Mosotho man sits in front of his house with a bucket of home-brewed beer in a small village in Botha-Bothe, a rural area in northeastern Lesotho. The remote villages in Lesotho are still very self-sufficient and people are dependent on barter to survive. Colored flags attached to huts or poles indicate that something is being offered, such as meat (red flag), vegetables (green flag) or home-brewed beer (white or yellow flag).
The man dressed in red is a Sangoma, a traditional healer. Traditional healers enjoy great prestige and power in the Basotho culture. They play an important role in health care, but also in performing various rituals. Sangomas are ascribed all sorts of magical powers, such as seeing the future and the ability to talk to ancestors.