01 Jun 2015

Western education should not in any way mean that Batswana should abandon their own traditions, which include, among others, traditional songs and games.

Speaking at the traditional games awareness competitions organised by the Botswana Traditional Games Association (BoTGA) in Molepolole on Saturday (May 30), renowned traditional artiste and radio personality, Mponang “Gongmaster” Ketshabile said traditional games were vital in developing a person’s character and therefore should be encouraged especially among the youth.

He also said if the youth was kept busy through traditional games, it would help in reducing cases of delinquency. “Games such as mhele and morabaraba also exercise the brain because they require a lot of thinking, this can be vital in the academic performance of students especially in subjects like mathematics,” he said.

Ketshabile also cautioned that if Batswana did not take their traditional games seriously, foreigners would copy and develop them into money-spinning initiatives in their own countries.

BoTGA chairperson, Evans Kesiilwe said the reason they started the association was to resuscitate traditional games such as mhele, koi and chama, which he said faced the danger of extinction. “We are concerned, especially for the younger generation who seem to know very little about these games,” he said.

He said they were currently on a nationwide tour to raise awareness on traditional games, and that they started two weeks back in Ramotswa.

“We are planning to visit ten villages in total. Molepolole is only the second village in our itinerary and from here we will visit other villages such as Maun, Serowe, Francistown, Tsabong and Mochudi,” he said.

He said they would pick individuals who got position one in each category who would then compete in the grand finale in Gaborone in September, with ultimate winners representing Botswana in South Africa in the same month.

“South Africa is so advanced in as far as these traditional games are concerned to the extent that some of their players actually make a living from them. For years they have been holding annual traditional games competitions. This is the route we want to take,” he said

Kesiilwe also said they were planning to advocate for the inclusion of traditional games in the President’s Day competitions.

Kgosi Kgari Sechele, in his welcome remarks, had expressed concern at the fact that some traditional games were getting extinct which he attributed to modern lifestyles where children spend most of their spare time watching television rather than playing in the courtyard.

“This is a pity because most of our traditional games actually exercise the body,” he said.  He hailed the initiative by BoTGA and said it would come in handy in resuscitating traditional games.

The competition has six different categories which include mhele, morabaraba, diketo, koi, chama and batho-safe. Ends