20 Aug 2015

The ever changing life has led to some cultural lifestyles and artefacts being forgotten, thereby denying the new generation an opportunity to see the beauty of tradition.

Despite the fast moving life of today, there are still some splendors that people should find time to visit, for instance the Raphalane customary court in Jwaneng.

When one enters the Raphalane customary court, the splendour of tradition catches the eye. The customary court hosts two traditional houses and cultural artefacts like selei, serala, traditional chairs, wooden built kgotla and many others. 

The court president, Nkaelang Lekgoa said the traditional houses and artefacts found in the customary court were built with the main objective of reviving and educating youth about culture. 

“We have noticed that our culture is slowly dying among the youth. So with this we hope to create enough interest among the youth to know their culture,’’ he said.

Lekgoa said that in an effort to revive and educate the youth on culture, they also host an annual cultural day, adding that they have since written to schools around the town to allow students to visit the court. 

“Traditional artefacts and education are available for viewing by the public during the week but we can also avail ourselves during the weekend,” he said. 

In the past, he said, they hosted youth pitso in the kgotla with the main purpose of showing and sharing with the youth the importance of a kgotla as a platform where issues affecting the tribe are addressed.  Nkaelang said beautiful traditional houses at the customary court also have traditional furniture used by the old generation. 

The houses show that the old generation was creative or had vision as they built houses with shelves called dikobotlo and provided a string called mohogole which was used as a wardrobe for hanging blankets and mats made of animal skins.  

The customary court president said there was a lot to be learnt about the building of the traditional house, the decorations and thatching grass and wood used.

He noted that artefacts like selei and serala can also be of inspiration to the youth on making a living.

One of the students who visited the customary court, Gorata Moswete said that it was a good experience for her to see the traditional houses and the artefacts, adding that she only saw those from pictures. “Selei interested me so much and I wished I could ride on it someday when the cows are available because I learnt at school that cows pulled selei,” she said.

Another youth, Odirile Maswabi said that seeing traditional material, food and dances is always splendour in one’s life because culture has a way of giving one a source of peace and identity in a world that is fast changing.

‘I love traditional houses so much because I am always fascinated at how old and yet modern they are, as they cool themselves during summer and their ability to withstand the rain yet they are made of soil,’’ he said.

Odirile said there was a lot that fascinates about culture and encouraged other youth to learn more about their cultures. Ends