Frequently the cattle kraal (a large enclosure) is found near the centre of the village, and near it is the large hut called the "Khotla" or Court, where the chief daily sits to administer justice (according to his interpretation of the word). There is always a large open space in front of the Khotla, where the people gather to hear the cases and to discuss the various complaints or offences. The Basuto are wonderfully given to long-winded discussions and explanations, and one would think a chief needed the patience of many Jobs to listen, as he often has to do, for hours at a time, to tedious and voluminous evidence from one man after another about some paltry case which, in an European Court, would be disposed of in a few moments.
The more civilized Basuto are rapidly learning to build square, stone huts, more like European dwellings, as they have adopted European dress and European household utensils; but the old native dwellings and dress are, to my mind, infinitely more picturesque, and their native ornaments, made of native metal, brass, iron, etc., infinitely more interesting than the awful "Brummagem" atrocities sold to them by the traders in the country.
I was much struck, when first I entered Basutoland, with the great superiority of the Basuto villages to those of the colonial Kaffirs which I had seen in the Eastern Province, both as regards cleanliness, neatness and durability, and I was equally pleased with the Basuto themselves, finding them both polite and obliging.
In the days before soap found its way into the country the people used to wash themselves with pieces of white clay, rubbing it all over themselves much as one rubs soap, or if they did not wish to use the clay, they dug out a large bulb which they call "Khapompo." It is the root of a broad-leafed plant, somewhat like a pineapple plant in shape, and is very astringent. When first used it causes a rash to appear on the surface of the skin, but after a few applications makes the skin soft and smooth.
In the old days, and still amongst the wilder and less civilized Basuto, the men's dress consisted of a kaross (letata), or blanket of skins, which they wore with the fur inside and fastened on to the shoulder by a couple of soft straps made of skin, and sewn firmly to the kaross with ox sinews, the only cotton they know of. Their only other article of clothing was a lamb skin strapped round their loins. The women wore aprons of sheep skins, one skin being considered quite large enough, while behind they tied an ox hide, cut into the shape of a circular cloak. Above the waist they wore nothing, unless in very cold weather, when they also wrapped themselves up in karosses. The little boys were, and are, clad in nature's garb, pure and simple, until they attain the age of twelve, when they adopt men's costumes.
The little girls from babyhood wear what they call "tetana," which is a deep fringe made of a thin-leaved weed, called by them "tseketlane." This they tie round their waists. To make it they take a strip of skin, cured and softened, until it resembles chamois leather, cut this about an inch broad, and wide enough to go easily round the child's hips, then take a large quantity of the weed, tear off the two outer parts, leaving only the back bone, as it were, which is about as thick as moderately fine string. The women then roll this up and down on their well-greased and red-clayed thighs, until it turns from a silvery white to a reddish brown. Bunches of these they sew to the strap all the way round. Their manner of sewing is naturally primitive. They make small sharp probes of native metal; with these they pierce holes in the strap, and, dividing the fringe in half, they tighten it "through the middle" on to the strap by means of dried sinews, and let the top part of the fringe fall over the lower part, thus making it of double thickness.
The kaross is made by sewing a number of skins together with sinew, the skins as a rule being of rock rabbit, or small deer, and occasionally of silver jackal. The skins are first dried, then rubbed over with powdered sandstone till thoroughly clean and more pliable, then rubbed by hand, always keeping the hands well greased, the greatest care being taken not to spoil the fur or rub holes. This rubbing is continued until the whole skin is thoroughly pliable and as soft as silk, by which time it is ready to be sewn.
The original ornaments consisted of brass rings of various sizes, beaten out to considerable width, and worn by the women round their necks; bangles, roughly twisted, of brass, on the arms from the wrist almost up to the elbow, and larger ones round the ankle and just below the knee; and bangles made of soft iron about an inch and a half broad and roughly carved by means of pieces of sharpened iron; also necklaces and bangles of the heads of a grass rather resembling Kaffir corn in miniature. These they used to plait very artistically, drying some in the huts in order to preserve the green tint, and others outside in the sun so as bleach them. Ornaments for dances consisted of, in addition to those already mentioned, skins specially "scratched" by their needles into artistic scrolls, circles, and crosses; anklets made of skin, into small bags partially filled with small smooth pebbles, and wetted and allowed to harden. These make a peculiar rustling rattle as the dancer moves. The men also wear ox tails suspended from both elbows, both shoulders, and both knees, and a head-dress made either of quantities of feathers, and not unlike a busby, or one of the hair off many ox tails. They also carry a shield made of hard stiff hide, and a long stick, straight and beautifully polished, with a round knob at the top.
Men and women alike smear their bodies, faces, and hands with a mixture of red clay and fat, but this is a general practice, and not only for fête days, even the tiny babies being polished in this way.
For a girl the correct dancing costume consisted of the fringe round the hips, the anklets of skin and pebbles, and a head-dress made of the crest of the golden-crested crane and other crested birds. The married women simply don their best skins and hold a more or less fantastic stick in their hands.