Seeiso Griffith

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Simon Seeiso Griffith (* 1905 ; † December 1940 ) was from 1939 to 1940 head ( Sesotho morena e moholo , English Paramount Chief ) of the Basotho people in Basutoland , today Lesotho .

Life

Seeiso Griffith was the only son of his father's third wife, Griffith Lerotholi . The first two “houses” had no sons. The fourth wife, however, had the son Bereng Griffith (1902-1948), who was born before Seeiso. Seeiso's mother had left her husband around 1900 and had not returned until 1903, so that she had fallen out of favor with her husband. He preferred as heir Bereng. To get Seeiso out of the way, he sent him to the remote Mokhotlong district in 1924 , where he had to collect taxes as a police officer. In 1926, Griffith Lerotholi declared his son Bereng the legitimate successor to the British colonial authorities. The Sons of Moshoeshoe , the highest body of the barena , also elected Bereng as a possible successor with 23 to 10 votes.

Seeisos main wife 'Mantšebo (1902–1964) left her husband and moved back to the western areas of Basutoland, as he had beaten her several times. In the mid-1930s he founded the village of Thabang (German: "Glück") and called his old village Salang (German: "Farewell!"). In 1938 his son Constantine Bereng Seeiso was born in Thabang. After Griffith Lerotholi died in July 1939, the Sons of Moshoeshoe - contrary to what had previously been decided - chose Seeiso as their successor as morena e moholo. He was crowned in July 1939 in front of over 40,000 spectators. During his tenure, Seeiso called on his compatriots to participate in World War II and promoted administrative reforms proposed by the colonial administration. He died in December 1940. Successor was' Mantšebo as regent , since neither Leshoboro Seeiso, son of the third wife, nor the younger Bereng Seeiso, son of the second wife, was of legal age. Bereng Griffith also wanted to become morena e moholo , but the Sons of Moshoeshoe voted against him. Bereng Seeiso finally became morena e moholo in 1960 and later as Moshoeshoe II. King of Lesotho.

literature

  • Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , pp. 366-368.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 366.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 367.
  3. ↑ a b Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weis fields Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 368.
  4. ^ Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 215
personal data
SURNAME Seeiso Griffith
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lesothic chief, head of the Basotho
DATE OF BIRTH 1905
DATE OF DEATH December 1940