Hosanna, the Bakalanga rainmaking dance
Friday, October 22, 2010
Just 30 kilometers west of Francistown lies the small village of Makobo where a group of Ikalanga elders are quietly acknowledged as the veterans of the tribe's culture.
It was at a joint PSLE victory party and prize-giving day at Makobo Primary School last week that Mmegi learnt that the Hosanna, as a dance, also refers to the dancer who is old and wise.
It is a clear signal that the government’s purse is empty and that our own behaviour has left veterinary officials fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. We have been here before. During COVID-19, many of us thought we knew better. We ignored simple rules, we carried on as if the danger was someone else’s problem, and the virus took lives and left our economy on its knees. We are still broke from that experience. Yet now, with FMD...