10 Dec 2015

At first glance, Ntsoane Ramontsho, appears a shy man. The 43-year-old Sojwe native seems to enjoy solitude.

He would attempt to turn down any effort for a chat, especially with a stranger. But first impressions can deceive. Once on stage the tiny Rastafarian segaba player transforms into a different man.

As he walks to the centre stage, before he even strikes the first strain from the one string instrument, the crowd already gives an applaud, giving a hint to those who do not know him that he has something special to offer.

Growing up at Mahathe cattle post near Sojwe, Ramontsho knew no other form of entertainment except the various traditional instruments because in that far flung area, there were no radio signals.

“When we grew up at the cattle post traditional instruments, especially the guitar were the only form of entertainment in the evenings. So it was only natural that a few of the guys at the cattle post learnt to play the instruments,” he said.

However, because there were not enough guitars, the few available had to be shared among the players, and Ramontsho said that is how he shifted his focus to segaba.

“Perhaps I did not have the patience to share the guitar. So I ended up choosing segaba because the other guys did not show interest in it, so it was only reserved for me,” he chuckles with pride at the wise decision. And that was more than three decades ago when he was still about a tender 10 years old. Listening to his tunes today leaves no doubt that the decades have sharpened his talent.

Ramontsho has been a heavy weight in the constituency arts and culture competitions ever since he stated taking part way back in 2010.

He said all these years he has been scooping positions one every time he performs, a feat that led to other players resigning themselves to only fighting for the second position.

On whether he sees any challenger to his sovereignty in the area, Ramontsho said none. “I am not trying to blow my own trumpet, but truth be told, many of these artists are still far behind even in basic aspects such as composition and blending of the instruments and the voice,” he said.

A rival segaba players who recently competed against Ramontsho at the constituency finals in Moshaweng also hails him as a top notch.
 

“I cannot tell you my name, lest people laugh at me for praising my rival,” he laughs, before admitting that they always find it almost impossible to outdo the rastaman in competitions.

“The way he plays shows he has been playing the instrument almost all his life. His tunes are always well refined, and I do not see anybody coming anywhere near him in the near future,” he said.

Ramontsho has however, been stuttering a bit in the more competitive President’s Competitions which has more serious competition, but he attributes this to stage fright rather than poor performance.
“I played twice at the national level of the competition, in 2011 and 2012 if my memory serves me well, but all these times I did not scoop any desirable position.

However, listening to some of those guys I could tell that if it was not of stage fright I cud have easily outdone them,” he explained with confidence. With so much talent, has the one-string instrument veteran thought of ever recording an album? “It does cross my mind often, but I’m hampered by lack of funds.

The songs are not a problem because I have quite a number of them, and composition comes easy to me,” he said, adjusting his position on the uncomfortable bench. In the meantime however, his sole source of money through the instruments is the various competitions initiated by government. He said he sometimes play at weddings and kgotla meetings, albeit free of charge.

“The reason I do not charge is because I do not have proper equipment. Segaba needs amplifiers if one is to play for a fee, but when you play for free no one would be justified in complaining about the sound quality,” he said. Looking ahead, the father of two said he has no plans of retiring from playing. “Age does not matter in the arts industry.
zAnyway, even if it did, am still a young man considering that some of those I often compete with are in their 70s,” said the small time farmer who completed his Junior Certificate in 1995.
 

He said at the moment he has nothing much to do except play the instrument and look after his cattle to feed his small family.

As the constituency final competitions round up in Moshaweng and spectators disperse, many of the impressed ones gather around him to shake his hand in appreciation and keep chanting, “Eita Jahman.” Ends