Kuru festival attracts 600 tourists, dancers

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Friday August 13, 2010 00:00

 

Traditionally the event has attracted the likes of President Ian Khama, especially when he was still the Vice President, Ghanzi and Maun Members of Parliament (MPs), and chief executive officers (CEOs) of various corporations have also graced the event in the past.

In fact Debswana has traditionally been one of the main sponsors of the festival until recently when the diamond giant was hard-hit by the global financial recession.

The event introduces tourists to San dance styles such as the Yeuei, Dxana, and Ndingo. The Dxana are popular for their healing antics on stage called 'Q'oesadcaa'.  Other styles, which have left tourists spellbound include the dove dance by the Naro tribe of D'kar, the Giraffe, and Gemsbok dances by the Gantsi dancers, while the Hambukushu also perform their healing songs, Diware in amazing fashion.

The annual event was not held last year when the coordinators decided to stage it in a different format.

The last Kuru Dance Festival, which Arts & Culture covered in 2008, had groups from different communities.  They included the Dxana and Dcui from New Xade, the Wayei from Ekoga, the Dxana and Dcui from Metsianong, the Naro from D'kar, the Ncubi Family From Corridor Na, the Qgoo from Bere, the Khwe from Plaatfontein (South Africa), the Tsumkwe from Namibia, the Dxana and Dcui from CKGR, the Dobe from Ngamiland, the Naro from Tchabo, the Xhanikwe from Shakawe, the Naro from Xhanagas, the Herero from D'kar, the !Xun from Plaatfontein (South Africa), the Qgoo from Ghanzi and the Ju 'hoansi from Tsodilo.

However, organisers say this time around they have been unable to invite groups from South Africa and Namibia due to logistical problems.

One distinctive mark of this san festival is the participation by the elderly people wearing animal skins as they do their spiritual dance and songs.

According to the organisers, this festival began as the only place for adults to showcase their spiritual song and dance culture.

Revellers are also treated to the sound of the Basarwa people as they play their musical legacy.

The festival, which runs for three days, was not held last year because the organisers had decided to instead stage mini-festivals in three areas, where various San dance groups, which could not attend the annual activity due to logistics problems, could participate.

When they staged the mini festivals last year the organisers also argued that the annual festival had become too big and too complex for them and that they were incurring losses due to the sophistication of the logistics involved.

However, they have decided to revert to the traditional format of this festival after the mini-festivals, which were poorly marketed, failed to match the real event in terms of hype and fund-raising.

Although they will not have dancers from Namibia and South Africa this year, as they traditionally had, dance groups will be coming from other non-San groups such as the Hambukushu in Shakawe, Herero in Ngami, while other groups will be coming from Tsodilo, Gantsi and the Kgalagadi regions.

Keema says a University of Botswana (UB) traditional dance group, Diphala will also participate.

Keema says although the festival celebrates the traditional dance style of Botswana's first people, the Basarwa or the San, they also use this activity to showcase cultures of other minority tribes in Botswana.  Since it started in 1997 the Kuru Dance festival has interested tourists from all over the country and from around the world to come and behold the Basarwa practise their native dance.