Mohalenyane Phakela
MORIJA — Pitseng is a classic novel by Thomas Mofolo which has recently been translated by Dr Daniel Kunene from Sesotho to English.
In Pitseng Mofolo paints a stunning portrait of Lesotho’s natural beauty, after which he explores a variety of themes including the relationship of faith and culture, affection and the nobility of sacrifice.
He explores the influence of Christianity on traditional marriage customs.
The book was originally written in 1910 and published by Heinemann in 1981.
Kunene says that he has in his translation, attempted to take the readers to Lesotho where Mofolo places his characters.
Thomas Mokopu Mofolo was born in 1876 and educated at the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society where he obtained a teaching certificate in 1898.
He wrote his first book Moeti oa Bochabela — at the age of 29 — This made Mofolo the first novelist in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
He passed away in 1948 having published many novels as well as plays of note; the National University of Lesotho’s library was named after him.