Batlokwa Commended For Upholding Culture
Chippa Legodimo | Monday August 18, 2014 11:52
Accepting dikgafela during the Batlokwa culture day at the Tlokweng main Kgotla on Saturday, Gaborone said he was humbled by his tribe’s gesture.
“It is fulfilling to note that most of you are reverting to the old way of doing things where subsistence farming was a top priority to most Batswana. This method has been part of our culture and so is dikgafela and it has sustained us for so many years,” he said. Gaborone applauded all those who heeded his call when he officially launched the letsema period saying their support of the Setswana adage ‘lefoko la kgosi le agelwa mosako’ has paid off.
“Through the little that you have harvested, you will be able to feed not only your families, but fellow villagers. This is what the spirit of self-reliance is, which also has always been part of our culture,” he said. Batlokwa came in droves to celebrate both their harvest and culture.
Apart from the traditional foods exhibited, the event was full of song, dance and poetry. Various traditional poets from the tribe took turns to entertain the crowd with the main praise songs reserved for the chief. Elderly men and women had their turn entertaining guests with old dikoma.