Batlokwa ancient shrine lives on after 100 years

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Saturday May 25, 2013 00:00

The rescue of the ancient shrine comes at the expense of a multi-million Pula internal road infrastructure project that had already resulted in other affected home and business owners being paid out to pave way for the planned road, before the department of monument halted the whole process.The multi-million Pula internal roads project in Mafatshwa ward was scheduled to pass through the old Batlokwa Kgotla where the shrine, used by Kgosi Gaborone in rain-making rituals, still lay unscathed and has survived for over 100 years.

Head of the Archaeology and Monuments Division at the Botswana National Museum Dr Phillip Segadika explains that as with all major developments the intended road project was preceded by an archaeological impact assessment that identified this shrine and the Old Batlokwa Kgotla as one of the potential casualties of the proposed road alignment. 'By virtue of the fact that its use is known to predate 1902, it is, by law, protected as an ancient monument in accordance with the law.So we entrenched the recommendation that the road will have to circumnavigate these very important archaeological and historical monuments,' Segadika explained to The Monitor over the weekend.

The head of the Archaeology and Monuments Division adds that they got to know about the discovery in December 2011 through the archaeological impact assessment report by Archi-Consultants who are among the 60 archaeology consultants approved by the Department of National Museum and Monuments. The Monitor also sought to know if there are any plans to promote sight seeing of the Batlokwa monument.Dr Segadika: Shrines are very sensitive heritage sites. Sometimes the presence of onlookers can be seen to contaminate the spirituality. After the successful development of the Francistown, Southern and Makgadikgadi heritage trails, we are currently developing the Greater Gaborone Heritage trail and some Tlokweng sites will feature quite prominently.

'Consultation is ongoing with Batlokwa royalty on sites in Tloweng, including the old Kgotla and the associated shrine. We expect a positive answer with some restrictions on usage. In some cases it may be decided that people should not point at it, or that certain apparel should be adorned or taken off prior to access. Remember, more like the biblical Moses taking off shoes at the holy place of the flaming bushes. The Monitor: Is there any evidence that the shrine could be resurrected for its initial purpose in future?Dr Segadika: The decision on the revival of the rain-making ceremony is the sole preserve of the Batlokwa Royalty and elders. We would not want to encourage a revival of the practice just for tourism purposes as that could bring ridicule to what was a sincere act of traditional form of worship.  As of now the site is essential as a time-marker and a springboard from which to tell the story of traditional forms of worship, the role of the king and the Kgotla.

Dr Segadika commended government departments for leading by example the process of undertaking seriously the environmental legislation and the Monuments and Relics Act 2001. 'If the South East District Council had just gone ahead with the road project based on the initial paper plan, they would have destroyed an essential fabric in the history of Batlokwa settlement in this region, their belief system and consequently a potential tour destination with great educational potential.  Some people say impact assessments delay projects. However, this is a good example of what happens when we do impact assessments prior to developments'.