This charcoal drawing illustrates an old tale called ‘The times of the cannibals’. Cannibalism was prevalent during the 1820s as a result of the devastating …
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This charcoal drawing illustrates an old tale called ‘The times of the cannibals’. Cannibalism was prevalent during the 1820s as a result of the devastating upheaval known as the Lifaqane, where invaders from what is now Kwa-Zulu caused great displacement and hunger across large areas of the Highveld including what is now Lesotho and the Free State. Elderly Basotho told tales around the fire in the evening to entertain and educate the younger generation. It was believed that if a story was told in broad daylight, then one would grow horns on ones forehead. However, this was just a taboo to avoid wasting daylight hours with storytelling.
