WeeklySA_AdminHEROINE: The legendary Sotho seer was a reminder that as Africans we are because they were
By Gugu Sibiya
Playwright, actor and author par excellence Dr Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha is staging a reading of a play that seeks to honour and shine the spotlight on a remarkable African woman and unsung heroine, Mantsopa.
Her story will be told at the iconic Market theatre, in Newtown, Johannesburg, tomorrow (Saturday), at 2pm. Listening to the unpacking of Mantsopa’s life is crucial. It’s set to lift a veil on how in the past women were never celebrated – no matter how transformative or huge their contributions were. It’s about how ill-advised, split-second decisions based on lack of respect for others can end up with devastating results.
Explaining what the reading is about, Mofokeng says: “It’s difficult to go to an opening night after four weeks of rehearsal. On stage the play you crafted in your studio is different from your thoughts and envisaged offering.
“At this point, your intermediary action is to get your actors to internalise the characters as much as possible. Except for the cast clad in black, the set remains unchanged”. Getting down to the nitty-gritty of what Mantsopa’s about, Mofokeng says: “She’s a woman who lived in the 17th hundreds in Lesotho. She was used to sharing her dreams with people. As all of them came to pass, she gained their trust. Emboldened, she approached King Moshoeshoe in 1750, to warn him about the upcoming war between the kingdom and the Boers.
After advising him what to do, she assured him that he was going to win. He did. It made him respect her for her gift. The award-winning thespian says the kings who came after Moshoeshoe, didn’t believe in her gift. Things got to a point where her life was in danger.
“Moshoeshoe moved the family to Maboloka in the Free State, which was still part of Lesotho.” Makhetha says her husband was murdered by Phushudi. It was easy for her detractors to attack since the clan was now vulnerable.
“Mantsopa’s gift was given at a time when prophets and sangomas were almost unheard of. She was called a seer. Women’s opinion didn’t carry weight those times. However, she was still brave to do what needed to be done without getting recognition. To this day she remains unknown,” he says, disappointed.
Mofokeng says the full production of the play will be staged next year. “Saturday’s reading coincides with Lesotho’s independence day and 200 years of Basotho’s existence,” he says proudly.
“Mantsopa who was born in 1794, died in 1905. Women of her era were not celebrated or written about. I would love to see her honoured in my lifetime,” Mofokeng says, pleading with the government of Lesotho to do right by heralding their precious jewel.
