Mohale oa Masite: A 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰 music school for the youth at the St. Barnabas Anglican mission, Lesotho
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Date
2023
Authors
Khobotlo, Setenane. M.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘰 music is an important and popular music genre in Lesotho. Despite its traditional roots, contemporary 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰 music has become mired in gang violence and organized crime. Masite Village, 20 Kilometers south of Maseru (Lesotho) is one amongst many villages in the country that have been terrorized by the escalating violence and killings amongst 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰 music factions. How may the insights latent in 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰 music inspire a critical regionalist architectural approach able to translate the creative cooperation between Basotho indigenous knowledge systems and Christian narratives into a 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰 music school at the St. Barnabas Anglican mission (Masite)? The goal of this school is to attract local youth to the traditional richness of 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰 music, without exposing them to the violence and social ills currently associated with this kind of music; a building able to act as a hero to the youth. The intention is to safeguard the liberating significance of 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰 and free it from what it has become in the hands of criminals through the richness of an architectural approach that draws inspiration from tradition, without romanticizing indigenous architecture to such an extent that it ends up saddled with perceptions of primitivism. Simultaneously, this architectural approach needs to recognize the influences of the place and socio-economic status structure of the community. This will contribute to the long-term relevance of such buildings. Besides a stance shaped by critical regionalism, this study will focus on place, a venturesome unpacking of gifts from 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰 music, and a detailed study of various architectural precedents. The proposed school will be embedded in place, time, and socio-economic reality while facilitating the respectful, yet visionary, cross-fertilization between two significant cultural forces in Lesotho.
Description
Dissertation (M.Arch. (Architecture))--University of the Free State, 2023
Keywords
𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘰, critical regionalism, Lesotho, indigenous knowledge systems, amalgamative architecture