23 Aug 2023

Batlokwa on Saturday gathered at Tlokweng Village Development Committee (VDC) grounds to celebrate their culture in an event they dubbed Mafifatshwana Cultural Festival.

Celebrated under the theme; My Culture, My Pride, Journey to 2025, the festivities were low key because of poor attendance.

Nevertheless, organisers went all out to stage a good show in a bid to pave way for the main celebrations billed for 2025 when they would be celebrating 145 years of the tribe’s existence.

Officiating at the event, Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Mr Tumiso Rakgare commended Batlokwa for celebrating their rich cultural heritage.

“As a ministry we are here to give support and bear witness that culture is celebrated and preserved,” he said.

He further said celebration of culture by different tribes in Botswana showed unity in diversity.

Cultural activities on display such as music, dance, traditional games and many others, Minister Rakgare said demonstrated a sense of belonging and pride, which made the Setswana culture unique. Kgosi Puso said the main objective of the day was to remember the origins and heritage of Batlokwa so as to preserve them  for the future generations.

Also, he said the tribe wanted to demonstrate economic benefits that could be derived from celebrating cultural activities.

He said such celebrations started in 2009 with an intention to celebrate the day annually until the main event in 2025.

He was however concerned that their proximity to the city was a threat to preservation of culture due to influx of other tribes who had now been integrated into the tribe.  Therefore, he said the tribe vision was to have a smart model village to help stop modernisation from eradicating their culture and value systems.

He said in Botswana Batlokwa were found in Tlokweng, Mogobane, Ramotswa, Mmatseta and Maun.

Giving words of encouragement, Oupa Bogatsu, representing Batlokwa from South Africa, said Batlokwa were spread throughout Southern Africa.

He Batlokwa were also found in Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

He encouraged fellow tribesmen to be proud of their identity.

He cautioned them to desist from selling land as it was the case with those in South Africa.

He said land was an important resource with an intrinsic value.

 A representative of Batlokwa from Zimbabwe, Sindile Mdlhongwa shared that Batlokwa were scattered throughout Zimbabwe.

He explained that they arrived in Zimbabwe during the time of the Difecane wars.

He said while some Batlokwa tribesmen remained in Botswana, his clan ended up in Zimbabwe while others went further north into Zambia.

He also said although they had lost the language in the process because of integration, that had not caused them to lose their cultural identity, hence his name is Mdlhongwa, which means Motlokwa.

He said Batlokwa were by nature brave and decisive, so he encouraged them to hold on to those traits as they believed in greatness. According to Kgosi Ramonnye Matlapeng, the Batlokwa tribe was one of those that arrived in Botswana in the 1800s from South Africa during the Difecane wars.

They split with Bakgatla in South Africa and found refuge in Botswana.

When they arrived in Botswana they sought refuge from Bakwena tribe under the leadership of Kgosi Sechele I, who gave them land.

He explained that the story of Batlokwa was one of courage and strife from other tribes who wanted to swallow them, but always found a way to split from those dominant tribes to preserve their own identity and survival.

Their totem is Thakadu since the animal is believed to have rescued them during a time of turmoil.

He said they were referred to as Mafifatshwana as they were revered to carry out their cultural ways in secrecy just like their totem, hence they still bury their dead in their home steads.

The festivities were characterised by presentation of dikgafela to Kgosi Puso, poetry, traditional games such as morabaraba, traditional cuisine and lots of entertainment.

Biggest performances were from Cultural Spears, Mma Ausi and Mafitlhakgosi traditional dance troupe among, others. ENDS