17 Jul 2015

The chairperson of the organising committee of the annual Tjingirini Cultural Festival of the Mbanderu has said that preparations are on track to deliver the two-day event in Toromoja starting on July 17.

Shedding light on the programme of the festival, Parominus Mbaeva said the elderly community members who are able to communicate with ancestors will camp at a sacred place where Kgosi Nicodimus Nguvauva of the Mbanderu used to stay.

Rituals will follow, including the presentation of grievances and prayers to the ancestors in the early morning hours of Saturday (July 18).

The Mbanderu paramount chief from Namibia, Kgosi Kilus Karaerua Munjuku III Nguvauva, who will be the guest speaker at the festival, will be officially presented to the people of Toromoja on Saturday (July 18).

He will be accompanied by Kgosi Gerson Kunomundu and other elders from Namibia.

Mbaeva added that an all-night traditional dance festival will follow where a dance for the elderly known as Muhiva, which features women singing with men dancing, will be presented.

The other dance that will be enjoyed at the festival is known as Urina-Via-Katama, and is performed by young women.

He stated that the Mbanderu will go to the late Kgosi Nguvauva’s grave for prayers the following morning.

This will be followed by an exhibition of traditional pottery, basketry and lessons on the history and origins of the Mbanderu. Later in the day, a new organising committee will be elected to start preparing for next year’s festival.

Mbaeva said a community member donates a cow to be slaughtered during the festival each year. 

The community also donates money to help make Tjingirini a success.

A member of the organising committee, Kingsley Kaeya Virore, said he is “very proud and feels honoured to be part of the biggest event in the Mbanderu cultural calendar.

It is time to find  the way as young people and thirst to know our origins and culture.

The elders are tired and will soon rest in peace hence it’s very important to archive our history and culture as young people. We have a very rich history which is worth sharing,” he said. Ends