Winning over the People

Abstract

Closely associated with the Government’s policy of dividing the chiefs was that of weaning their people away from them. So long as this policy proceded successfully, the danger of a revolt led by the chiefs continued to diminish. It was, however, a policy which required careful handling, for loyalty to one’s chief was a basic virtue in Sotho society, although counterbalanced by a man’s ultimate sanction of withdrawing his allegiance and joining another chiefdom. Unlike the missionaries, the Government did not ask the Sotho to abandon their chiefs physically and move into Government-controlled villages, but the magistrates nonetheless quite consciously tried to undermine the authority of the chiefs. As they were also simultaneously attempting, by enforcing the regulations, to introduce a number of unwelcome changes into the daily life of the Sotho, they required a nice judgement of what changes in Sotho law would be tolerated by the people in return for such advantages as Government protection from unwelcome impositions by their chiefs. Simultaneously, the magistrates had to prevent the chiefs from becoming so discontented at their loss of power over their people that they united against the Government. An initial salutary lesson assisted Griffith to strike a suitable balance in future.