23 Nov 2016

Dr Susan Keitumetse has written a book on conversation of culture heritage and its management.

The book was launched at the Shoshong culture day hosted by the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development in conjunction with Shoshong public library recently.

Dr Keitumetse said her book was meant to sensitise people on the fertile-rich history and heritage of the African culture from the Southern African perspective.

The book also talks about the preservation and conservation of the African cultural heritage since “we have plenty of it but do not know to adequately use it to enrich ourselves, and to also know the dangers of the over usage of such cultural heritage. I wrote this book to insight inhabitants of this rich continent on how to use the cultural heritage we have in the continent because we have it aplenty but we do not have a single clue on how beneficial it would be if we were to use it adequately”.

The Shoshong native also said some contents of the book outlined the perils of hiding or designedly overlooking another tribes’ heritage and as how that could be a hindrance in that particular culture’s social development.

Quizzed on how different is her book from other African heritage and historical books that have been authored before hers, the University of Botswana archaeology lecture explained that her book challenges colonial scholarship and existing theories because most previous authors just collect and recycle what the missionaries have written many years ago while she did things in practically.

“Most African heritage and historical authors just research and use already collected information by the missionaries but it is sometimes dangerous to do so as you can also adopt compilations by the missionaries full of errors unknowingly,” cited the 42 year old lecture.

“As an archaeologist, it has helped me as I have dug a bit deeper than the missionaries to find gold worth of true African heritage and I have also interviewed many very old people about their early history,” said Dr Keitumetse.

The book is available online and Books Botswana at the University of Botswana and trades for P600.

However, the single mother of one expressed disappointment to the lack of acknowledgement of Shoshong village as the cornerstone of this country’s heritage at the recent Bot50 celebrations and she in fact think Shoshong should have been at the forefront of the celebrations because it holds the foundation of this country’s independence.

She said it is worrisome for the youth not to be so keen with their country’s heritage and history as it is important to know your tribe’s history as it serves as a gauge or value of where one comes from, a form of identity and emotional attachment alike.

From authorship side of view, the academic author also stated that it is distressing that Batswana have not written and published more than enough about the Botswana they live in and also continued to allow foreigners to come and write about their own historical heritage.

She also said in conclusion that with the current rates of unemployment, cultural historical heritage can be of great utility to this epidemic as it can be used to diversify the economy and create employment.

She further explained that historical heritage is something they already own and its diversification can be of great utility because it can be used as a tourism site thus creating employment.

She encouraged youth to consider options in the health tourism sector as Shoshong can be used a therapeutic home with cabins because of its serene and tranquil atmosphere.  BOPA