“We smoke it and it reminds us of different things.
We remember the miracles of the world.
We remember those far and near.
We remember”
– Basotho Cannabis Smoking song, from C.J. Bourhill’s report from 1913 called ‘The smoking of dagga (Indian hemp) among the native races of South Africa and the resultant evils’
“Fumando a Fatal Liamba” i.e ‘smoking cannabis’ in Angola from the 1881 book ‘De Benguella ás terras de Iácca; descripção de uma viagem na Africa central e occidental’ (From Benguella to the Iacca lands: description of a trip in Central and Western Africa) by H. Capello and R. Ivens.
Smoke Session
The gathering of friends for a smoke session would seem a modern ritual, but the practice dates back thousands of years. In Africa long before the 420 moniker, it was tradition.
In some of the earliest reports from South Africa, Cannabis plays a large social role. Cannabis also called ‘dagga or liamba’ among other names was consumed at social gatherings in which the men would gather to smoke and sing.
During these smoking gatherings, folk songs dating back before the elders would be sung to pass down history. Some of these songs, like the example above, were indeed about cannabis.
In some areas, like those of the Basotho, these traditional smoke sessions continue to this day…
Basotho traditional songs
A late-19th century postcard depicts Angolan laborers smoking cannabis in a water pipe