Khotso, Pula, Nala.
“Peace, rain, prosperity.”
The national motto of the Kingdom of Lesotho, carried on its coat of arms and flag: peace must come first, since it brings the favour that yields rain, and rain in turn brings prosperity to a land that lives by its crops and cattle.
— Traditional Lesotho Wisdom, Lesotho
Source: National motto of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Coat of Arms of Lesotho (current form adopted 2006; earlier Basutoland-era form "Khotso ke Nala")
More Proverbs from Lesotho
A person is a person because of other people.
Human identity and worth are formed through relationships and community, not in isolation.
The axe is sharpened on the other side of the river.
Sometimes the tools or help a person needs are found far from home, echoing the long history of Basotho men traveling abroad for migrant work.
Lions that lack unity are chased off by a limping buffalo.
Even the strong can be overcome when they fail to act together; unity multiplies strength.
A child is a child of the whole community.
Raising and protecting children is a shared responsibility, not just the task of the birth parents.
Rain is life.
In a mountainous kingdom that depends on the land, rain sustains crops, cattle, and survival itself — a value echoed in Lesotho's national motto, Khotso, Pula, Nala.
To travel is to see.
Leaving home and experiencing the world broadens understanding and wisdom.