09 Sep 2019

Different tribes in Botswana have been urged to document their cultural activities for the benefit of the future generation, researchers as well as tourists.

Officiating at the second annual Takarive OvaHerero Heritage Day at Takarive cattlepost near Mokoswane on September 7, Vice President Slumber Tsogwane said local cultures were facing extinction due to lack of documentation.

“I wish to challenge all of you to explore your talents and skills and make a living out of it. By so doing, your commitment may determine your future and the present may predict what the future holds for you,” said Tsogwane.

He said the day was for the celebration of the Ovaherero for their enduring spirit of survival and perseverance that saw their forefathers travel across the Kgagadi Desert to escape German persecution in Namibia and found refuge in the then Bechuanaland Protectorate.

The Vice President said it was pleasing that the Ovaherero had seen it fit to acknowledge Takarive, a place where chief Samuel Maharero called home when he and his people arrived in this foreign land that had become home to many Ovaherero.

Tsogwane was hopeful that the Takarive OvaHerero Day would play a unifying role for the tribe spread across the three countries of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. He said the activity seeks to impart an understanding of the Herero language, food, rituals, beliefs and behaviours peculiar to OvaHerero.

“Through educating fellow Batswana about your culture, there is hope that those they interact with will appreciate you and your culture,” Tsogwane said.

He said it was important to eliminate lack of understanding of each other’s culture, noting that ignorance yields intolerance and rejection.

“The human mind rejects the unknown and labels it as negative. The need to have a day such as this one opens doors to discover and appreciates other’s language and culture and live together in harmony,” he said.

Tsogwane encouraged other tribes to emulate what the OvaHerero were doing and celebrate their culture to promote social interaction.

He also added that government appreciated the need to introduce indigenous languages into the school curriculum even though such efforts were hampered by financial challenges. He said although it was important to celebrate the history, it was disheartening to recollect the pain and suffering that some tribes had gone through to survive.

Meanwhile, OvaHerero Paramount Chief from Namibia, Vekuii Rukoro said his tribe was proud of its culture. Rukoro said language was a driver as it identified one’s culture.

“Without it, you have no identity,” said Rukoro. He said the tribe was only focused on socio-economic development as they had also identified the need to develop and preserve their culture.

Rukoro said the OvaHerero and Nama tribes’ colonialism by the Germans had not only resulted in human genocide, but had also led to cultural genocide which led to scores of the tribes abandoning their culture as an initiative to conceal their identity and escape the German massacres.

“It is unfortunate to note that today some of our people are only eloquent in English, and it pains to recall that they were forced to deprive themselves of the belonging for the sake of survival,” he said.

Rukoro applauded the government of Botswana for having provided the Herero and Nama tribes with refuge and even allowed them to identify and celebrate what they were. He advocated for the government to allow the use of indigenous languages at schools.

Rukoro also stated that the OvaHerero and Nama tribes were engaged in a court battle with the German government seeking reparations for the massacres of their forefathers during the colonial era. He said the OvaHerero and Nama were accused of resisting colonisation, a situation that led to the death of 80 per cent of the Herero and 50 per cent of the Nama.

He said in an effort to address the issue, the German government was paying development assistance to the Namibian government.

ENDS