30 Aug 2017

Faculty of Humanities dean, Professor Andy Chebanne has encouraged Nama communities from both Botswana and Namibia to maintain their language known as Khoekhoe for their culture to subsist.

In an interview on the sidelines of the second Nama cultural festival on August 26, Prof. Chebanne said for a culture to subsist it needed language because the two complemented each other.

“Culture and language are intertwined, and it will be impossible to promote a culture without a language,” he emphasised.

Prof. Chebanne narrated that as Nama history unfolded, the early white settlers named them the Khoi Khoi or the Hottentots and their origin stretched from Angola down to the Cape, making Nama language one of the most geographically spread languages in Africa.

He said despite Nama language having many dialects and also spread across the entire continent, they must cling to it and avoid being influenced by different environments.

He also encouraged them to host their cultural activities using their language.

“Nama culture cannot be promoted using English, Afrikaans or Setswana or any other language,” he said.

Further, he encouraged them to cultivate their children’s competence in their original language for them to keep their language significant throughout their generational stages.

Earlier in his remarks, Kaptein Piet Kaartze, from Tsabong encouraged Nama communities to unite and move forward as a team to grow and nurture their culture and preserve it.

He also lauded the event organisers for their endless efforts in ensuring that the event became a success, despite working on a tight budget, given the few donations this year compared to last year.

He further appealed to government to recognise their bogosi so that they would be able to deal liberally with their community concerns.

In his closing remarks, Lokgwabe-Tshane councillor, Aidoo Leshope called on Bangologa and Bakgalagadi to imitate the Nama communities by also promoting their cultures.

Leshope also encouraged the community to be proactive in different activities, improve the economic status of their village using natural resources around their villages for tourism activities. ENDS