Basali!: Stories by and about Women in LesothoBasali! means 'women' and is one of the most common exclamations in the Sesotho language. Usually uttered by a woman and delivered with a laugh, a shaking of the head, or a clapping of hands, Basali! evokes Basotho women's admiration and wonderment for themselves and each other. These stories in 'Sesotho-ised' English reveal a way of life and a way of perceiving experience that is unique in African literature. The stories offer glimpses of traditional healers, circumcision schools, witches, bride-prices, and extended rural family life. There are families disrupted by migrant labour, women and men brutalised by apartheid, teenagers who violate tradition, and middle-class office-workers whose rural families live by a different click than the one that ticks for them. The focus of each story is the decisions women make, the actions they take to protect and to provide for themselves and their children, and to care for the people they love. |
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Contents
Three Moments in a Marriage | 1 |
An Unexpected Daughter | 17 |
The Lost Sheep is Found | 24 |
Copyright | |
10 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
afraid African Alexis answer arrived asked aunt baby Basotho beat became body boys brother brought called changed child church cold coming cousin daughter door drink Durban English eyes face father feel feet fell felt gave girl give go back hand happened hard head hear heard heart hospital husband kill knew leave Lesotho letter live looked M'athato Mama KaZili married Maseru means month morning mother mountains never night Ntate nuns pain parents passed person question remember Sehlahla sheep singing sister sleep sometimes South started stay story talk teacher tell Thabiso Thabo things thought told took tried true University Usiwe village voice waiting walk week whole wife woman women writers
References to this book
Gender Realities: Local and Global Marcia Texler Segal,Vasilikie P. Demos,Vasilikie Demos No preview available - 2005 |
Telling Stories: Postcolonial Short Fiction in English André Viola,Jean-Pierre Durix Limited preview - 2001 |