29 Oct 2017

There is need for Batswana to commercialise cultural/traditional dance and song to maximise benefits and make a meaningful living from it, says Ke Sebine Cultural Festival representative, Godfrey Maake.

Speaking at a lecture workshop on the promotion, development and adjudication of Botswana’s traditional song and dance recently, Maake said culture is dynamic  hence Botswana needs to play its role in preserving and nurturing cultural heritage.

He noted that the lecture workshop would be looking at ways on growing traditional song and dance in competition form.

“We are going to look at what should and shouldn’t be done when one does traditional song and dance. People also need to know what adjudicators look for in performances,” he said.

Ke Sebini Cultural Festival is a fully registered organ which deals mainly with festivals, workshops, cultural parades, cultural competitions, coaching clinics as well as beauty pageants of different tribes.

Maake noted that Ke Sebini Cultural Festival strives to provide all the necessary support and assistance to performing cultural groups in Botswana together with their partners and stakeholders.

He further said they had invited representatives from the Department of Arts and Culture in Mafikeng to come and share with participants on their experiences on traditional song and dance.

“It is important for people to know their identity and know where they come from, hence we encourage people to learn and understand their culture and know the essence of where they come from,” he said.

Maake said that Ke Sebini Cultural Festival would go on a country wide tour consulting Dikgosi on how best to preserve and nurture traditional song and dance.

“People should note that we are not only interested in traditional song and dance but culture as a whole,” he said.

He also indicated that people should visit their Facebook page Ke Sebini Cultural Festival to see updates of events they have lined up.

Maake said Botswana is blessed with different tribes hence they all have their own cultural identities and this is what makes the country unique.

“We appreciate each other and also we should learn and understand each other’s different cultures because it brings us together,” he said.

Founder of Mogwana Traditional Dance Group and also Member of Parliament for Kanye South Abram Kesupile was also present at the lecture workshop to give insights on what traditional dance and song is and what Botswana can do to make inroads in maximizing benefits from it.

The group which was formed in 1991, during Botswana’s silver Jubilee specializes in traditional music, song and dance has been making waves in the media locally and internationally since its foundation.

It took the foresight of  Kesupile to form Mogwana Traditional Dance Group along with one Gaolape Basuhi.

Traditional dance as an art form is generally not recognised, hence this initiative involves a lot of hard work and dedication and according to Kesupile the idea was to bring together a selection of music and dance from all over Botswana.

“We wanted to come up with a group that would perform all the various dances present in Botswana,” said Kesupile.

Amongst other participants were traditional artistes for song and dance. ENDS