07 Oct 2019

A wave of rich tapestry of the African culture swept through the Tsabong kgotla drawing up multiple melodious renditions of various artists as they took turns to outsmart each other in the first cycle of the Kgalagadi South constituency arts competitions.

The young people who thronged the Kgotla on Saturday expressed their artistic talent in folklore music fusing it with their own unique characteristic touch.

Their renditions exposed the audience to a rich variety of interesting sounds in various competition entry categories such as segaba, setinkane, katara, poetry, traditional song and dance, dikhwaere as well as theatre plays.

During the traditional song and dance performance, Re Batswana group from Kokotsha captivated the crowd as they gave a splendid Tsutsube performance titled Re Batswana. The group beautifully and diffused the elections registration message and responsibility to vote embedded strong stage presence.

Their performance earned them position one worth P5 000. Meanwhile, Diganka tsa Pina from Khawa came second taking home P3 000 while Matlhogela from Kolonkwaneng earned position three worth P2 000.

Under the Segaba category, Samanyane Kadume of Kokotsha scooped position one after presenting a fresh, elegant and gripping account of elections expressed through his bowed string instrument single-stringed traditional violin. His ardent tenor and the plush voice earned him more marks from the judges as he sang about the importance of elections to Batswana. His performance earned him P2 500 followed by Kewagamang Matoto from Werda who won P1 500 while Lebuletswe Bapalang came third earning P1 000.

Meanwhile, under the Setinkane category, Maiteko Ntshwakge from Werda sailed through to position one after impressing the judges with his command of pressing the metal forks of varying length with tact to produce a melody that spread the 2019 general election message in a symphony notes, which were soothing music to the ear. Keoagile Morubisi from Maralaleng came second while Keabetswe Tsietso of Maleshe came third in this category.

The competitions reached a high peak in the guitar category where it was a battle of the titans as Nkopo Ditshoso of Kokotsha presented strong competition through his excellent stage presence and command of guitar. He crafted a rich message on elections performing A re yeng ka dipalopalo banana ba Botswana.

He performed a broad spectrum of traditional percussive beats with contemporary influences that lit the stage much to the delight of the crowd. Position two was scooped by Gonyatswang Malaule of Hereford who performed Ditlhopho while Selogo Diane scooped position three for his rendition Tlhopho boikarabelo jwa Motswana.

Those who were skillful in the interplay of words and rhythm took it to stage to recite poetry where Moabi Itaoleng of Khuis scooped position one for his Pitso ya botlhokwa while Botshelo Motlhanke came second after reciting Ntswe legolo ke tlhopho  followed by Iponeng Mmoloki Khawa after reciting Kgang tseleng. His catchphrase spoke volumes in figurative language about the kind of government that he envisioned.

Other performances were traditional dikhwaere, Kokotsha Fighters Choir scooped position one followed by Lentswe la Kalahari from Struitzendam then Tsoga Maroko Choir from Maubelo. Under drama, Seboana Theater group from Tsabong scooped position one followed by Itirele Theater group from Draaihoek whose members performed popular dances producing an African vibe and at the same time presenting the election message.

A curator at Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development Keabetswe Motswasele said the constituency competitions were the first cycle and the second cycle would be held in November or December as a build up towards the President Competitions. He said the theme was centered on the 2019 general election to encourage the artists to come up with performances that projected elections message, which encouraged the people to vote on October 23.

Chief judge, Karabo Otlhophilwe encouraged the artists to take stock of themselves and work on rectifying some of the mistakes made. He emphasized that it was important to drive the message instead of giving too much focus to the aesthetic component of the rendition. He added that artists should practice hard to improve themselves to be better artists in future. ENDs