Poetry as a Strategy in Courting: The Case of Basotho Boys

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the oral Sesotho poem that was used by Basotho boys as a courting strategy. In most African societies, including Sesotho society, boys used to adopt several approaches to propose love to girls. They would perform heroic actions to attract girls, engage in traditional songs and dances in which they would choose potential partners, or recite poems to the girls to express their feelings. While the former were performed in public, there would not be any audience for the latter. In Sesotho, there was one communal poem that was used by boys to propose love. Using textual analysis, the article sets out to explore this popular Sesotho poem by an anonymous poet to understand the language used in it and to interpret the meaning expressed with the chosen diction. The findings reveal the uniqueness and richness of language attained through the use of metaphors in which the poet uses concrete objects to express his abstract feelings. He identifies himself with the four important objects in the daily lives of the Basotho. Through the use of metaphor, the speaker portrays his character as well as the persona of the wife he anticipates as a suitable life partner.