31 Oct 2016

 Bangwaketse on Saturday converged to celebrate their rich culture, history, song and dance during the fourth annual Mmakgodumo Cultural festival.

Speaking during the occasion, Kgosi Kgari Sechele III of Bakwena encouraged Bangwaketse to develop Mmakgodumo cultural festival site.

He said developing the site would give them a permanent place they could visit to reflect on their rich culture as a tribe.

He also advised Bangwaketse and Batswana at large to revisit their different cultures adding it gave people an identity.

 Kgosi Kgari said it was not wrong for Batswana to move with the times but encouraged them to pick some good aspects of their culture along to suit modern situations rather than embracing foreign cultures at the expense of their own.

He said Batswana have values and traditions which have served them well in the past that they should be proud to share with the rest of the world the same way Asian nations like China, Japan and Korea did through martial arts.

He cited the traditional maternity period (botsetsi) as a case in point and argued that it was still relevant because it gave a nursing mother time to recover and afford a new born baby the necessary care and protection.

Kgosi Kgari further advised Ba- ga-Setlhong as Bangwaketse are best known, to document their history and culture for generations to come.

Kgosi Malope II of Bangwaketse also emphasised the need to develop permanent structures at the site.

Kgosi Malope said culture could mould especially young people into responsible adults.

For his part, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Kanye North constituency Mr Patrick Ralotsia explained that the event was a “must have” for Bangwaketse thus encouraged them to grow it bigger and better with time.

Mr Ralotsia also Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security pledged to delegate officers to assist in future preparations for the event to ensure it grew by leaps and bounds.

He said the event could rekindle the spirit of self-help Bangwaketse used to be known for in the past which he described as an imperative for national food security.

 University of Botswana (UB) Professor Thapelo Otlogetswe informed culture lovers that Bangwaketse were a tribe of firsts during the late Kgosi Seepapitso III’s time.

 He said Kgosi Seepapitso III who was educated at Lovedale was by far the most educated among his peers.

He said Bangwaketse were the first to use stand pipes during his time in the whole of Botswana.

He shared that Kgosi Seepapitso III, who was killed by his own brother at the age of 32, also set the bride price to be eight cattle for Bangwaketse.

Professor Otlogetswe highlighted that after Kgosi’s untimely death, his son Kgosi Bathoen II who had also schooled at Lovedale and Tigerkloof continued where his late father had left off during and ruled from 1928-1969.

He shared that Kgosi Bathoen II, like his father, was also a man of firsts who started the first ever agricultural fair in Kanye in 1938 with the assistance of the first Agricultural demonstrator Mr Russell England. Prof. Otlogetswe also revealed that the first organised horse race, council chambers, irrigation project, Library among others occurred in Kanye under Kgosi Bathoen’s leadership.

He further added that Bangwaketse used to bury their departed in the backyard but changed during Kgosi Bathoen’s time at the helm.

He encouraged Bangwaketse to use the annual culture spectacle to reflect on Kgosi Bathoen’s legacy and carry it forward. ENDS