These traditions date back to the first king of the Basotho people, King Moshoeshoe I (pronounced moe-shway-shway). As for the kobos, the story goes that in 1860, someone gave King Moshoeshoe a gift of a wool blanket, which he decided to wear. The rest of the Basotho people followed his lead and also began wearing blankets. These blankets come in many beautiful colors and patterns, which represent different things. Some of the blanket designs represent the clan to which the person belongs, while others depict different aspects of Lesotho culture, like corn or other traditional images.
It gets very cold in Lesotho, so the blanket is functional as well as fashionable. Many people wear blankets throughout the cold winters here. Sheep are also very common in Lesotho, and the kobos are made from their wool.
