25 Jul 2017

Setswana culture seems to be dying a slow death and the main culprit behind this development is modernization. Many Batswana have taken in modernization unconsciously replacing their culture.

The expression ‘culture is dynamic ‘has been used as a scapegoat to silently suffocate culture. Cultural zealots are now regarded as primitive and anti-revolution.

Meanwhile, there are few Batswana who still embrace culture as their real identity. Despite the dominion of modernization in today’s era, they still believe that cultural heritage offered a robust variety of benefits as it could give people a connection to certain values, beliefs, religion and customs.

Zowa Traditional Group from the tiny settlement of Monong, located 56 kilometres west of Hukuntsi  are part of this few, amongst the masses of Batswana who fight for revival of culture through Tsutsube music and dance which is usually practiced by Basarwa tribe.

 Holding arms and watching their culture going extinction way was not what this group of youths can bear.

Speaking in an interview with BOPA, the group spokesperson Malatelelo Gaditlhajwe said culture was an important aspect of life which made up a strong nation and without culture the society goes astray. 

Therefore Zowa Traditional Group was born in 2001 with the mandate of reviving and passing of 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 Monong, youth still cherish the San culture because it is our identity and modernization is slowly encroaching on us because of geological location” she explained.

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

During cultural events such as Kuru Dance Festival which is usually organized for Tsutsube music groups, no one is allowed to join in this healing dance as it is regarded as a scared ritual by all San communities. 

However, this dance festival played a critical role in perpetuating the San culture throughout the generations to come.

 When Zowa performs healing, they usually feature excellent use of stage which can be equivalent to today’s modern consultation room in hospital.

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

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

Recently they have been invited to many social and corporate occasions which built their profile to greater heights. 

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

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

The Monong- based group has impressive record in Constituency Arts Competitions by scoring position one and two in most of their appearances.  

They also reached their zenith in 2011 when they scooped position one at the President Day Competition in Gaborone proving to doubting Thomases that something of diamond value can emerge from a rural settlement like Monong.

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

She said collective decision making and respect are also the factors that contribute to their splendid performance always. ENDs