Lekgothoane's praise poetry: an aesthetic discourse

Abstract

In this article, Shika Kgomedi Lekgothoane's artistic poetic works collected in ‘Praises of Animals in Northern Sotho’ (Van Warmelo, 1937) are assessed on three parts: a biographical sketch, a text and a reader in order to give a map to negotiate his creative skills. Lekgothoane is a traditional praise poet. His praise poetry falls within the delimitation of nature, which is not associated with leadership as is expected in this type of poetic work. The article proposes that nature as recited by him, enables the reader to understand fully the whole universe including its living things (animals). This indicates that Lekgothoane's environment is the place where cultural and traditional behaviour, customs and humanity are taught. His poems thus evoke a spirit of nationality.