The positive depiction of Basotho women in Basotho accordion music: Sannere’s perspective

Abstract

This study is inspired by Sannere’s song ‘Lerato’ in his accordion music that depicts Basotho women positively. For a very long time, the portrayal of women in Basotho accordion music has always been negative. Negativity seems to be depicted through certain songs of many Basotho accordion music artists. However, in his song, ‘Lerato’, Sannere marks a new turn that merits the attention of scholars as it challenges the prevailing delineation of women in Basotho accordion music. In a notable departure, from the negative portrayal of a woman, Sannere in his song ‘Lerato’, assumes agency by communicating messages of love, appreciation and respect for a Mosotho woman. This study seeks to unpack Sannere’s song ‘Lerato’ to affirm his positive contribution to the portrayal of women. This study employed Africana Womanism as its theoretical framework to scrutinise the portrayal of women. By listening to this song several times, the researcher identified the notions of interest and analysed only the parts of the song that merited the notion of interest with a focus on their lyrical content. A thematic analysis of this song revealed how Sannere portrays women challenging the negative portrayal of women in this genre. This study argues that the negative portrayal of women in the Basotho accordion music is precarious for human society, highlighting its effects both in Lesotho and South Africa.

Contribution: The findings of this study will contribute to Basotho accordion music studies, underscoring the significance of African Womanism in understanding African women.