20 Apr 2016

It seems many Batswana have welcomed modernisation at the expense of their culture. 

These days culture is dying a slow death and the main culprit behind this development is modernisation. 

The saying that culture is dynamic has been used as a scapegoat to silently suffocate norms and customs of communities. 

However, there are few Batswana who still embrace culture as their real identity. 

Despite the dominion of modernisation, they still believe that cultural heritage offers a variety of benefits as it could give people a connection to certain values, beliefs, religion and customs.

Badirammogo Traditional Group from the tiny settlement of Make are part of this few among the masses of Batswana who are fighting for the revival of culture through Tsutsube traditional music and dance which is usually practiced by Basarwa. 

Folding arms and watching their culture going extinction was not what this youth group could bear.

Speaking in an interview, the group spokesperson, Barati Moilwa said culture was an important aspect of life and that without culture society would be lost. 

Badirammogo Traditional Group was born in 1996 with a mandate of reviving cultural knowledge through Tsutsube music.

“Nowadays culture has been thrown in the dustbins of history and it is left in the hands of elderly people. 

However for us here in Make, the youth still cherish the San culture because it is our identity and modernisation is slowly coming to us because of geographical location,” he explained.

Tsutsube music and dance has some special aspects of healing and hunting which they usually showcase during their performance. 

During events such as the Kuru Dance Festival, which is usually organised for Tsutsube music groups, no one is allowed to join in this healing dance as it is regarded as a sacred ritual. The dance festival has played a critical role in perpetuating the San culture.

“Since time immemorial we used dance and music to connect to our ancestors, be it for healing purposes or for calling on the rains. Healing was done through dance and prayer,’’ he said.

Always clad in animal skins and singing a wordless song of ‘uwee’ during their performances, Badirammogo is well known in the entire Kgalagadi District for its unique and creative styles of performance. 

Other traditional dance groups such as Zowa and Inalegolo had always had a mammoth task to overcome them. 

 Their hunting and gathering performance has always been the best. Amazingly, they usually bring creatures such as scorpions and hyenas which look realistically to the human eye. 

However, these creatures are usually designed animal like figures with a living person inside who reacts to the premeditated play on stage.

The Make based group has an impressive record in constituency art competitions. They scooped position one consecutively in the past four years. 

The record did not go well with their opponents as they claimed that they grease the judge’s hands.  

They reached their peak in 2009 when they scooped position one at the President Day competitions in Gaborone. 

They are usually invited to perform at various weddings and other social gatherings.

Moilwa said the group’s impressive performance is a result of hard work, team spirit, discipline and diplomacy in handling internal conflicts. 

He said collective decision making and respect were also factors that contribute to their splendid performance. Ends