Lesotho’s Famo music: from shepherd songs to gang wars

MASERU, Lesotho — Puseletso Seema is musical royalty within the tiny African mountain kingdom of Lesotho, the place she’s generally known as “the Queen of Famo” -– a well-liked style of pastoral accordion music beloved by the nation’s folks, the Basotho.

However for all her fame, she by no means bought wealthy, and the 77-year-old grandmother’s residing situations nowadays are removed from regal.

She resides in a small, run-down house alongside a dusty highway within the rural areas exterior the capital, the place small boys experience donkeys beneath the shadows of the mountains, and shepherds wrapped in colourful, patterned blankets watch over flocks of sheep.

It is winter, with strikingly clear blue skies and snow on the distant mountain peaks. Seema does not have cash for electrical energy and isn’t properly, coughing lots as she reminisces about turning into the primary girl to interrupt right into a music business that was as soon as strictly the protect of males.

“Famo music is a music that is like jazz in other countries, it’s the genre most known in Lesotho,” she explains. “It’s a music that is emotionally connected, you can express your happiness, sadness, all your feelings.”

Journalist Motsamai Mokotjo, who has written on the subject, explains famo this fashion: “In essence it’s engraved in folk law, you know, it’s poetry fused with the accordion.”

“It speaks to the history of Basotho and everything that’s going on in the country. It’s more like what people in America would say is hip hop, it’s a form of expression,” he provides.

 Wayfarers’ Hymns

Lesotho is among the world’s poorest nations, and Seema grew up with little or no. She had no education and was put to work by her household as a toddler taking care of the livestock. Often it was boys who labored as shepherds, however Seema’s mother and father did not have a son. Nonetheless, she held her personal.

“When I was in the fields I would sometimes fight with some of the herdboys,” she laughs. “And I started singing this music when I was a shepherd.”

Famo began as a rural music amongst Lesotho’s shepherds, however migrated to the city areas together with the Basotho who went to work in South Africa’s mines within the twentieth century.

“It was there where they were introduced to an accordion,” says Mpho Malikeng, a Maseru musician and artist who’s an professional on famo. “That is the primary instrument of famo music.”

Lesotho is solely surrounded by South Africa, whose mineral wealth and huge gold deposits made it a middle of mining for many years. After an extended day down the shafts, mineworkers would collect at rowdy makeshift pubs known as shebeens, and play famo.

Seema, too, went to attempt to make her fortune in Johannesburg, generally dubbed “egoli” or the town of gold. Not as a miner, however a performer for the miners – simply as when she was a herder, a girl getting into a person’s world.

“I’m the first woman to produce famo music,” she says. “Because that music was known for men to sing it and for women to dance to it, flicking up their skirts, when they went to shebeens.”

Authorities Ban

Famo has modified lots since Seema’s day. Lately, it is turn out to be inextricably related to gang violence.

Whereas there aren’t any actual statistics on what number of lives have been misplaced to famo-related violence, it’s unhealthy sufficient that final 12 months the Lesotho authorities launched a crackdown, banning some teams solely in addition to prohibiting media from reporting on the gang wars.

“There are disturbing issues of murders taking place these days. Our families, relatives and friends are killed by these Famo gangs,” stated diamond magnate Prime Minister Sam Matekane final 12 months.

“As the government we have released a gazette that indicates that these groups or these people, wherever they are, they should be known as terrorists,” he added.

The federal government launched the crackdown after a spate of famo revenge killings in 2024. In a single, in April, 5 members of the identical household had been killed. In July, famo star Khopolo Kholue, was gunned down alongside an area journalist investigating the gang wars.

Mpho Malikeng , a musician and cultural activist from Lesotho, says the violence all comes right down to famo musicians buying and selling barbed insults of their track lyrics – and the antipathy then turns to actual violence.

“It’s like a rap battle, so you have to diss your fellow battler, by dissing them, you’re making them come up with better verses, and they’re also dissing you back,” he says.

Like a Rap Beef

He likens the scenario to the East coast-West coast rivalry between hip hop teams in Nineties Los Angeles, that resulted within the murders of Tupac Shakur and the Infamous B.I.G.

There’s additionally friction over turf, he provides, explaining: “You cannot be in a certain area listening to so-and so …. It may even cost you your life.”

Nonetheless he says he thinks the federal government has gone too far with the bans, particularly as some politicians and members of the safety forces are themselves alleged to be concerned with Famo gangs.

“It has even infiltrated into the political landscape of the country, the politicians use all this to try and garner support for electioneering,” he says.

Prime Minister Matekane has admitted some members of the police are concerned with famo gangs, saying: “We have learned as the government that some members of the security agencies are on the front row in these famo gangs. I appeal to them to quit that thing and do what they are employed to do.”

NPR phoned police minister Lebona Lephema for touch upon the crackdown, however he declined to remark and hung up.

Regardless of having a inhabitants of solely 2.3 million, Lesotho has excessive homicide charges and unlawful firearms are rife. The gang violence has additionally spilled into neighboring South Africa.

Famo music remains to be standard amongst unlawful miners there, who danger their lives exploring disused mine shafts to eke out a residing. A lot of them are Basotho, and are generally known as “zama zamas,” or “those who take a chance.” A few of them are engaged in gang violence too.

“Queen of Famo,” Seema, does not wish to touch upon the gang wars which have turn out to be a part of the music tradition. However she’s going to say: “I don’t like music that is vulgar or insulting or insinuating any hate.”