Thomas Mokopu Mofolo

Jade Munslow Ong (University of Salford)
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Thomas Mokopu Mofolo (1876-1948) is Lesotho’s most famous writer, known primarily for his 1926 novel,

Chaka

.

Mofolo was born in Khojane village in Mafeteng, on the 22nd of December 1876, the third son of Protestant parents, Abner and Aleta Mofolo. [The exact date of Mofolo’s birth was not officially recorded, though this date has been consistently used by biographers and historians. Tim Couzens records that it was likely that Mofolo’s parents were Christians, though both Alfred Casalis and Herman Dieterlen claimed his parents were pagans (2005: 290).] Christianity was well established in Basutoland (now Lesotho) by the time of Mofolo’s birth, as in 1833 three members of the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society, Thomas Arbousset, Eugene Casalis and Constant Gosselin, obtained an

1942 words

Citation: Munslow Ong, Jade. "Thomas Mokopu Mofolo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 January 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3145, accessed 19 March 2024.]

3145 Thomas Mokopu Mofolo 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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