03 Sep 2024

The stage is set and drivers of the inaugural Bobirwa Cultural Festival are coming to grips with the realisation that the day they dreamt of and planned for has finally arrived.

Organised on a Saturday, the cultural festival is meant to accord young people and Babirwa based outside the region to grace the event in droves. 

First Lady Ms Neo Masisi is expected to deliver a keynote address while ministers of local government and rural development and that of youth, gender, sport and culture Messers Kgotla Autlwetse and Tumiso Rakgare are expected to attend. 

Kgosi Joel Masilo, a custodian of Bobirwa culture, said they intended on bringing the young into appreciating the history of their tribe amongst other things.

Ideally, the festival, through information sharing, will attempt to extract a wedge that exists between young Babirwa and their culture.

“This festival will birth some introspection for us as Babirwa. We go down memory lane and exhume the parts of our culture which have been hitherto unknown to some,” said Kgosi Masilo.

As a way of amplifying the invitations, Kgosi Masilo said various social and mainstream media platforms have been exploited to reach a wider spectrum of audience.

Stretching from as far as Foley through Damochujenaa and Mogapi, Bobirwa region is also home to other tribes as Bakgatla of Lentswelemoriti who co-exist peacefully. 

Representatives of these tribes will be accorded opportunities to share their stories, especially leading to how they landed in Bobirwa.

While dikgosi from all the villages are expected to grace the occasion, also expected are dikgosi from the now defunct Central District who have reportedly expressed their desires to partake. Also, the Babirwa in South Africa, through their Tsosoloso Ya Ngwao Ya Sebirwa organisation, are reportedly raring to feature in the event.

Although the event is earmarked to feature in the calendar of national events, dikgosi in Bobirwa are yet to set specific dates and permanent location of the future events.

“However, we agreed that the venue for the event should be one with historical sites where we can tap on cultural tourism as you know that our area is endowed with natural and cultural resources,” said the tribal leader who added that attendants of the events would leave with bags full of memories. 

For this year’s activities, nestled between Rural Administration Centre on the south, Bobonong main kgotla on the south east, the village holding kraals on the east and Sebatakgomo Lodge on the north west lies the venue that, until the preparations got in motion, was just an open and rocky space with a few trees sparsely spread.

Paradoxically, the rocky, open space is expected to usher in a smooth cultural event where revelers would feast on a bouquet of Babirwa culture.

The space is a laissez-faire for the young ones who find a kgotla setting limiting due to the expected and enforced dress code.There, a simulation Sebirwa yard has taken shape with every feature distinct. Like ants on their daily routine, men and women are darting to and fro as they nail the final details of the yard before culture enthusiasts descend.

Outside the yard, on the eastern side, is simulation kgotla while on the north west is the borehole that used to water both humans and their animals.

A select Babirwa will explain to culture enthusiasts, their proclivity towards certain traditions, general and peculiar, and how such moulded their morafe hitherto.Sebirwa song and dance would ignite and give pulse to the festivities.

Sebirwa song and dance groups such as Zebras Cultural Group, Tsa Kalawa Cultural Group and Sebonda Cultural Group, are slated as torchbearers of the song and dance cultural aspect where they would ignite and pulsate the festivities.

Renowned traditional dance muso, Shumba Ratshega will spice up the stage while Molabe Choir amongst others, will thump and thud the stage to subdue possible monotony.

Exhibitors are expected to fill the air with the aroma of the traditional cuisines while serving revelers some food whose aftertaste is expected to continually spur and nag individuals to the 2025 festival. Ends