In Southern Africa, the blanket is never just a blanket. In Lesotho — the world’s second-biggest mohair producer — the Basotho blanket marks the moments of a life: a boy’s initiation, a wedding, a mother’s new status, a funeral. Patterns carry names and meanings; how you wear it says who you are.
Lesotho’s herders shear mohair that is sold at auction in Gqeberha, while the blankets that define the nation are a separate, woollen tradition.
ESONILE will return to this story — the cloth that holds identity, and who profits from making it.