Kgosi Gaborone Urges Batswana To Uphold Culture
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Monday May 8, 2017 15:45
Speaking at St Joseph’s College Cultural Festival at the school’s grounds on Saturday, Gaborone said culture was the only thing that could re-build the nation and eliminate most of the social ills adopted from the western culture.
He said for decades, the country has prided itself in its culture. The Batlokwa Kgosi added that the National Policy on Culture also encouraged Batswana to partake in restoring their culture.
“It is important for us to realise the significance of our culture. Our culture can mould us into responsible citizens. I would like to applaud the school for coming up with this event as it also gives us courage as their leaders as it shows its commitment in restoring our culture. We are currently facing many social ills and other challenges such as ill-manners, drug and alcohol abuse, rape, theft, road accidents, teenage pregnancies, cohabitations, defilement, abuse and others,” he said.
Gaborone said nowadays children no longer greet elders and neighbours do not care about each other. He added that cohabitation was a serious concern as most of the young and even elderly people stay together outside marriage. He further pointed out that that was the main reason why most unmarried couples end up in either abusive relationships or their relationships end up in passion killings.
He added that all these could be eliminated by following culture. He urged parents to teach their children of their culture so that they could grow into responsible leaders. He said culture could bring Batswana together and has proven that it can bring and unite the nation. “As Batswana we have always loved peace. We have never engaged in fights. Whenever we had problems we believed in resolving our differences through communication. Nowadays, these things are changed. Whenever people have conflicts they fight. We must remember the Setswana saying, ntwakgolo ke ya molomo. We have to talk and resolve our differences,” he said.
The school head, Constance Male said the event was amongst those lined up for its 90th Anniversary next year. She said the event’s mandate was to bring together former students, former employees, current staff and employees and other people associated with the school.
She also encouraged their students’ parents to partake in next year’s celebration preparations. “The other reason we have hosted this event is to promote culture.
We have realised that our children are not interested in learning our culture and knowing our language. They have a mentality that Setswana language and culture are tough. They are, however, keen on learning foreign languages.
This event will show them that our culture is indeed attractive,” she said.
Professor Thapelo Otlogetswe said it was imperative to promote Setswana culture and show children that one can use their Setswana cultural skills to eke out a living.
He gave examples of artists like Ditiro Leero, Culture Spears, Dr Vom . He said there were restaurants that sold traditional food and other Batswana who use their cultural skills to make a living.