Central district to get a cultural village

ONALENNA MODIKWA
Staff Writer | Friday June 4, 2010 00:00

The design for the cultural village on 12 hectares of land is expected to start next year after it was suspended because of a shortage of funds. However, the search for the site has been ongoing. Some architects were at some point engaged for the design of the site, but according to the Senior Cultural Officer, Kgomotso Diseko, their contract was terminated because they were not conversant with the local traditional structures. The much-anticipated cultural village will house all cultural features of each tribe under one roof. There will also be a state theatre, but smaller than the one expected in Gaborone.

 Addressing traditional leadership in Lerala last Tuesday, Diseko said as the Department of Arts and Culture they encourage the revival of culture and tradition in the country and expressed concern that the intangible cultural heritage of the country such as lifestyles, history, creed as well as language is slowly becoming extinct.

She indicated that being a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Botswana seeks to have all country members have their cultures preserved. She added that at present Botswana cannot protect its culture and traditional from copycats because it has never been compiled to safeguard it.

In its quest to have Setswana culture and traditional practices preserved, the department is going around the country to form committees that will compile tradition in their respective areas. All these will be compiled in a book that will then be officially endorsed by UNESCO as a compilation of Botswana culture and tradition. After this the country will then have legal rights to the book's contents. Diseko said the revival of cultural practices and tradition has already started in Kgatleng area when they restarted initiation schools.

'We want to accord our culture the respect and dignity that it deserves and to enhance the spirit of unity among the diverse tribes of Botswana.  Botswana has signed an agreement with UNESCO to that effect and I am hopeful that the Tswapong region will not fail in contributing their cultural practices more so that you have been blessed with the cultural village in your region.'

The Cultural officer said she is much encouraged by the passion that the Tswapong region's traditional leadership has demonstrated in recognising their culture and tradition as evidenced by the recent celebrations that were held in Goo-Tau where they even invited Bapedi from South Africa.  'I encourage you to overcome your challenge and dedicate your efforts to achieving your dreams to have your culture persevered and being put into practice.'

Also as a way of resuscitating culture, the department has started a competition in different traditional categories.There will be a category for dikhwaere, traditional dance and drama. Groups must register from their respective wards and compete up to the constituency level where the winner will get P5,000 and qualify to compete nationally. These competitions are expected to be held thrice a year. The President's competitions that are held annually will continue. They start from the districts and winners compete at the national level. The winning group gets P20, 000 and there are consolation prizes for participating groups. 'The Tswapong region must compete with its own traditional dance to present it to the nation.'

There will also be traditional craftsmanship competitions in June where the winner will get P10 000. The initial arrangement was that competitors would go to Gaborone to exhibit their products, but the show has developed both in significance and the volume of competitors attending. This time around competitors will send their products. Competitions will be held at the Serowe Museum in June 7 to 13 and winning products will be sent for the national competitions in Gaborone.

Dikgosi urged the department to visit them in their respective villages to explain these to the communities.