The area is ruggedly mountainous, landlocked, and completely surrounded by The Republic of South Africa. The terrain consists of high veld, plateau, and mountains. The climate is temperate with hot summers and cool to cold winters. A wealth of rivers and waterfalls makes Lesotho valuable to the surrounding arid industrial areas of South Africa.
Cultural Insights from a Very Kind Missionary:
Food: The staple food is PAPA. It is a maize corn flour which is mixed with water. It is eaten twice daily. It is grown and looks alot like sweet corn, but it is not sweet. It is dried and then ground into flour and stored throughout the year. It is cooked with water until it is kind of hard. It looks like mashed potatoes, but the consistency is like half cooked rice. They eat with their fingers. They also eat alot of spinach called Moroho. It can be fried or boiled. Food is not a special occasion. So much of the population is impoverished. Food is sustenance, not pleasure.
Music: Traditional music is very diverse. Women sing and dance. They are amazing dancers. They click their shoulders and have amazing rhythm. They love any music with a beat. There is alot of traditional costumes, body paint, etc. A lot of the traditional dancing for girls is topless with grass skirts. Men have various costumes.
The Basotho Blanket: The Basotho blanket is a common sight in Lesotho, and the Basotho wear these blankets in all kinds of weather. The traditional fabric is seshoeshoe (pronounced se-shuay-shuay).
Much of the informatin above provided by everyculture.com.
