Geoff Mapaya

Due to the call for sekoele (African renaissance), Lesotho, like most African countries, is in the process of resuscitating practices deemed traditional, and many traditional music practices are still commonplace today, albeit in new contexts. This entry discusses two categories of performance practice in Lesotho: mmino wa bacha (music for the youth) and adult music. Mmino wa bacha refers to music associated with youth. Bacha (youth) are found in schools, which is a site where the idea of sekoele or cultural renaissance is energized. Lesotho embarked on a program that sought to resuscitate cultural practices by hosting countrywide campaigns and celebrating cultural days.

This chapter puts forward an account of the dynamics around the livelihood of individual practitioners: It deals with socio–economic issues, with strategies for the general promotion of a music genre. It investigates issues of identity and other matters pertinent to the study of the genre and its practitioners. The study takes all these issues under the organising argument that once a dipela musical genre is established, then there will be a clear platform where debates on issues pertaining to survival can be launched. In other words, the dipela music genre offers a possible opportunity for transition from pedestrian to professional musicianship, and this is our hypothesis.