The relocation of ancestral graves is never taken lightly. As the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) embarks on the necessary relocation of 193 community members’ remains from Tlhakola and Masakong villages, their commitment to respect, sensitivity, and community partnership takes centre stage. This relocation, which started June 10, 2024, is part of a larger initiative to move 450 graves and ash heaps from four villages impacted by the Polihali infrastructure development for Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
Recognising the deep emotional and cultural significance of this process, the LHDA has prioritised the needs and traditions of the affected communities from the outset. Extensive consultations with families, community leaders, traditional healers and government departments such as the Ministry of Health and the Department of Culture and Environment, to ensure that every step of the process from grave identification, registration and verification to the selection of new burial grounds and coffins, and to reburial ceremonies, aligns with cultural protocols and legal requirements.
To acknowledge the significance of this undertaking, the LHDA supported two pre-relocation traditional ceremonies were conducted on June 6 to observe the cultural custom of slaughtering two cows – one male and one female – to enable the community to call on the ancestors to relocate to the new burial grounds.
“We acknowledge LHDA’s understanding that the affected members’ beliefs and religious customs are diverse,” stated Ntate Tsépang Tsakatsi, a community elder, praising the LHDA’s support for the traditional pre-relocation ceremonies and financial assistance to families conducting their own customary rituals.
Beyond logistical considerations, the LHDA demonstrates its commitment to emotional well-being by providing dedicated counselling services through social workers. This ensures families have access to support throughout the sensitive process of exhumation and reburial.
The LHDA’s collaborative approach extends to partnering with expert archaeological and funeral service providers, like PGS Heritage-Koti Se Phola Joint Venture, who work alongside community members to ensure respectful and dignified handling of the remains.
The relocation of graves is a component of the broader resettlement programme, which seeks to mitigate physical and economic displacement associated with large scale infrastructure projects such as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. This process requires extensive engagement with owners of affected assets, local government and traditional leaders to determine relocation areas, village layouts and house plans, and is complemented by a livelihoods restoration programme to support affected households and communities and a programme to protect the cultural heritage of those in the project area.
The relocation of graves within the main Polihali reservoir inundation area is planned for a later stage, with the contract expected to be advertised in the third quarter of 2024.
