Our culture is our life

THALEFANG CHARLES
Correspondent | Friday November 12, 2010 00:00

 

Their performance is like storytelling.  They enter wearing their ancient traditional attire made from animal skins. Women in beautiful beads from ostrich egg shells singing wordless songs with a recurring 'uuwee' together with harmonised clapping of hands.  Men approach behind with a dance, slowly dragging their feet in rhythm.  Arms stretched sideways, sticks in hands and horns on their heads.  It is a cultural exhibition of the San's culture through a song. 

Their performances demand concentration, lest you miss the gist of the story.  Last weekend they converged on Kang for the Western Kgalagadi Cultural Association Festival (WKCAF) and told many stories of healing, hunting and gathering, puberty and played games through their fascinating dances.

The two-day festival began on Friday night with groups performing the revered 'healing dances' around the fire until late into the night.  The healing dance is the sacred dance mostly performed for ailing human beings as well as various reasons such as land, weather, trees, animals and general well-being of the people.  Uxhauta Traditional Dance Group from Zutshwa, Nca'a Nca' Ase from New Xanagas, Xalaxwa from Bere and Zowa from Monong performed the hunting and gathering dances.  Hunting and gathering are Basarwa's main way of life and the recital showed how men hunt, while women performed the gathering dance.  The crowd favourite was the Wedding ceremony dances from wonderful displays by Badirammogo Traditional group from Mmake, Makgaolakgang from Kacgae, Ipeleng from East Hanahai and Future from New Xade.  Each group told a different story of the events leading to a successful marriage.  The dances displayed the amusing proposal by the young man to bogadi negotiation and the actual wedding ceremony.  Valley Traditional Group from West Hanahai, Ukwi from Zutshwa, Tsharwa from Kokotsha danced the impressive Games moves.  Ngwale (puberty) dance was performed by Inalegolo Traditional Dance Group from Inalelego, Uxhauta from Zutshwa, Nca'a Nca' Ase, Xalawa and Zowa.  The Ngwale is another sacred San dance for the initiation of a girl into adulthood during her first menstruation.  The dance is customarily performed at night and was duly delayed for sundown.

One distinct dance was the Polka dance, which is mostly danced in the south-western part of the Kgalagadi.  The dance is said to have come along with white farmers and the Dutch when they arrived in Southern Africa.

Formerly called the Boerwalf, the dance is done by couples hand-in-hand moving in circles to an instrumental music.  The crowd was invited to get their partners and participate in the dance.  The dance floor soon resembled a party in Bokspits or any village in the deep south-western Kgalagadi as audiences joined the show to do the Polka.

Traditional music turned-gospel singer, Maxy later displayed the sampled version of these rich San traditional dances when she performed her songs as the guest closing artist.

The event held under the theme, 'Our Culture Is Our Life' was organised by the Western Kgalagadi Conservation Corridor Project with aims to increase tourist flows to the region, to promote San culture and to generate income for local residents.  Conservation International and Botswana Tourism Organisation funded the event.