Minister open reviewing Hosana dance monopoly

The Minister of Labour and Home Affairs Edwin Batshu, who was speaking for Minister Shaw Kgathi, told Parliament on Tuesday that when the arts competitions commenced in 2008, stakeholders in the North East region chose Hosana as the only dance in the category.

Hosana is not traditional for all Bakalanga, but is a ritual dance performed as a way of communicating with the gods when praying for rain. Batshu said there was no indication that this disadvantages any groups who participate in these competitions saying; "the issue has not been raised in our evaluation and consultations meetings with stakeholders." Batshu said Hosana is not the only ritual dance performed during the competitions: He cited the Okavango region's Diware dance and Tsutsube from the Kgalagadi region as other dances performed during the competitions .