17 Apr 2024

Moshupa District through Ipelego Trust will on Saturday host Hika la Ngwanyana Cultural Festival.

The event, to be officiated by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, will be held at Moshupa Dam and attended by various tribes and dignitaries from other countries.

Kgosi Kgabosetso Mosielele II of Moshupa, also chairperson of the trust said in an interview on Tuesday that the event was intended to revive their culture, which they realised was fading.

He said the event was not only meant to promote their own culture, but of other tribes as well, adding that trusts from Bambukushu, Bayei, Basarwa, Okavango, Pandamatenga and Chobe would also grace the occasion to showcase their cultures.

Kgosi Mosielele highlighted that it was vital for other tribes to preserve their cultures, noting that culture was their identity and built responsible people.

He said various cultural practices would be shown during the festival such as patlo, traditional games as well as food. “We would be basically showing how our forefathers lived and the importance of following on their footsteps,” he added.

The Ipelego trust chairperson said the festival would also bring people together and promote good relations with other tribes.

The event, he said would boost local economy as residents would be able to sell their various products and services to multitudes of people in attendance.

“I therefore urge residents to give our visitors a warm welcome, as they would want to come back if they had a good experience and they would only have good things to say about the district,” he added.

On how they came about with Hika la ngwanyana name for the festival, Kgosi Mosielel said in the past a girl who was believed to be aged around 18 drowned at the dam.  He said the girl had gone to fetch some water and the belief was that while resting on top of a certain rock, she was pulled into the water by a snake and the rock was named Hika la ngwanyana. For his part, project coordinator, Kefentse Masimolole promised Batswana the biggest cultural festival ever in the Southern part of the country.

He said the event, which would celebrate cultural diversity, would include various activities such as boat rides, beach volleyball, tag of war, traditional games, five-aside soccer, sky diving and many others.

 Masimolole said there was no entrance fee and those setting up stalls would be expected to pay a certain fee.

He said there would also be a music festival.

He said camp sites were also available with set up tents, noting that there were different packages such as VVIP, VIP, executive as well as budget.

The coordinator said the attendees would also enjoy beautiful water frontage and landscape.  He further urged potential sponsors to come forward and join forces with them for the coming editions. ENDS