Tswana culture, people, food, language, traditions, ceremony, dance and traditional attire. Tswana people have an amazing culture, language and. The involvement with mining has produced a unique tradition of singing and dancing males, with highkicking group dances. Setapa costume ended in the olden days, nowadays the setapa generation put on. Traditional tswana music was generally based on the human voice and string instruments, with a general lack of drumming. A tswana does not think in terms of individual rights. Nkafu african dance group congo square fest 20 costumes by diop. A history of the batswana and origin of bophuthatswana. Traditional music and dance generally declined during the last decades of the colonial period, as such culture was suspected of being antithetical to modernity and development. They compose lyrics that offer narratives and critiques of the past and present.
See famous facts about the tswana tribe that make them one of the most respected tribes in sa. Along the x axis is time, and on the y axis is the count of editions published. Traditional tswana music is performed by tswana people during feasts and special occasions. Ethnic tswana made up approximately 79% of the population of botswana in 2011.
Tswana dance by moremogolo tswana traditional dancers on. Tswana youth dancers uxhentsa kwe young people, so intertaining. Traditional african dancers and gumboots dancers is a entertainment performers company that specializes in events, gallars and functions of all kinds. Traditional music, dance, and literature combine in sotho cultural performances. Our performances are inclusive of interactive performance. The word is derived from the tswana word go tapatapa, which means to step into the. The traditional tswana residential area is a compound, often housing several closely related family groups. Tswana dancers in gauteng services gumtree classifieds. Mogwana is a group of professional artistes based in gaborone, botswana. The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics 14750289156. Into the 1990s, much urban housing was financed and built by the government, and repeated a few basic patterns, including one that retained a courtyard structure, which later became unpopular. The description of the traditional tswana religion showing system of. Before its independence in 1966, botswana was a british protectorate known as bechuanaland.
Introduction the main aim in this chapter is to examine the history of the tswana people, especially their migration, dispersion, fission and fusion, wars and settlements. Botswana, an african country just north of south africa, is home to many traditional art forms, from painted designs on houses and basketry to dance. A stomp odyssey for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. He controlled human destiny by sending different weather, in order to indicate through winds, hail, heat, rain or its absence, and death, his discontent with some departure from. Dancers of the group will do patterns following each other in a row or circle formation.
These wars were the major turning point in the region and in the history of the tswana. Featuring a contemporary score by south african composer philip miller, which pays homage to the adolphe adams score, and traditional tswana dance styles, masilos giselle is a. Traditional tswana music is performed by tswana people during feasts and special occasions such as beer gatherings, weddings and initiation ceremonies. Wood captured music from tswana sotho tribal descendants and basarwa bushmen, whose songs cover themes such as war, hunting, farming, school. Traditional dance of botswana and southern africa performed by dancers from mogwana dance company. Culture of botswana history, people, clothing, traditions, women.
History textbooks published in setswana in 19 and 1940, and in. The country is named after its dominant ethnic group, the tswana bechuana in older variant orthography. The indlamu dance is the traditional male warrior dance, and it shows off muscular strength and mock fighting. Performing in the title role, masilo brings her stunning highspeed style to the stage, fusing ballet, contemporary and traditional tswana dance. The dance consists of stages where transformation is seen. Tswana for beginners was compiled to serve as a progression from practical tswana vocabulary and phrases published by via afrika and is integrated with the data contained in the trilingual dictionary dikiinare ya setswanaenglishafrikaans dictionarywoordeboek via afrika. We do traditional zulu dance, tswana dance, african gumboots dance, pantsula dan ce and african drumming. Sep 21, 2014 tswana people are nigercongo or bantuspeaking people including. Botswana traditional dancers us africa synergy 2nd annual african cultural night. Choirs perform and compete with each other on official and ritual occasions. Powered by a hauntingly beautiful score which combines classical strings with african percussion and voice, this uk premiere is ballet but not as you know it. Some groups probably increased their numerical size through being joined by other small migrant groups. A journey with tape recorder along southern botswana from mochudi to kang various artists while traveling across botswana in 1983, ethnomusicologist elizabeth n. Traditional tswana belief was centred around the high god modimo, who was regarded as the creator of all things, and the person responsible for all human destiny.
My daughter doing a traditional tswana dance with her friends. These dance are usually preformed as traditional celebrations. The tswana language belongs to the bantu group of the nigercongo languages. Some of the instruments used include the segaba and setinkane. Xibelani dance is a lively and movement filled tsonga dance. The story is in form of a dialogue between an elder and a young learner who is eager to know the traditional customs, mores and ethos of batswana. The book covers traditional institutions and practices such as kingship, childbearing, cattle kraal patterns, agriculture, metal. Tswana people have an amazing culture, language and tradition. Music, musical instruments and the sacred dance 266. While botswana has a rich oral tradition in poetry. This travel book is available in print, kindle and nook formats. Thebe culture and customs of africa toyin falola, series editor. Batswana traditional dance music group performing at the 12 south african traditional music awards held on saturday at mmabatho convention centre.
Culture of botswana history, people, clothing, traditions, women, beliefs, food. Jun, 20 traditional dance troupe, tlokweng botswanadancing at a wedding. A study in four villages in eastern botswana part 7, issue 1984 of document swedish council for building research, issn 03470962 document. Unravelling history and cultural heritage in botswana. Setapa is a traditional music dance which originates from the bangwaketse tribe of kanye. Connect with tswana culture in re tswa kae batswana. Schapera a short history of the bangwaketse african studies 1, 1942. Setswanaenglish phrasebook by alfred john wookey, setswanaenglishsetswana dictionary by z. There is a wide range of botswana dance styles and routines which have strong linkages to the botswana culture. Botswana traditional dancers us africa synergy 2nd. For instance, in the context of initiation ceremonies among the tswana, anth. The books in this series intend to capture the comprehensiveness. The changing functions of traditional dance in zulu society jstor. The origin of the main tswana dynastieshurutshe, kwena, and kgatlais.
Between the 1880s and 1960s, botswana was a poor country and a peripheral british protectorate also. The internationally known mogwana, a professional dance troupe based in gaborone, sets a high standard in terms of performance and adherence to traditional. Entertainment our focus is strictly limited to pure african traditional music, dance and other entertainment services which we provide to corporate, weddings, upmarket restaurants. Storytellers, dancers, and musicians join with audience chanting, clapping, and singing to retell ancient folktales. Song pina and dance pino are highly developed forms of artistic expression. Ethnic tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of botswana in 2011 the tswana are the native people of southwestern botswana and of the north west province of south africa, where the majority of the tswana live. The most significant aspect of tswana cultural life today is the advent of hivaids and. Izinduku entertainment is a small dynamic company with its principal activities in promotions, productions, management and contracting in the entertainment sector. Neo traditional dancing, once confined to a couple of adult troupes. Wars broke out in the region around the 17th century over trading, land and power which culminated in what is known as the defequane or the break up of the tswana people. Many of the groups vere probably mixed and sothotswana culture would accordingly be a blend of many cultural traits that developed over a.
It was also one of the poorest and leastdeveloped states in the world. Traditional dance troupe, tlokweng botswanadancing at a. Batswana, singular motswana are a bantuspeaking ethnic group who are native to southern africa. Mokorotlo and mohobelo dances from the sotho people of mokoroane, mohales hoek, lesotho. Some contemporary forms of traditional practices, such as clay pottery, have been revived in response to the tourist trade. Traditional troupes ensure that dance styles are kept alive, and the san dance style tsutsube and setswana setapa remain popular. Sometime between 200500 ad, the bantuspeaking people who were living in the katanga area today part of the drc and zambia crossed the limpopo river, entering the area today known as south africa as part of the bantu expansion there were 2 broad waves of immigration to. Listen to tswana dance from moremogolo tswana traditional dancerss pulse. Deserted by her lover, giselle, danced by masilo herself, is guided by a sangoma, a traditional healer, in a trailblazing feminist take on the classical ballet. Published in the book african elegance by alice mertens and joan broster.
Isicathamiya is a dance performed by a group of men or boys standing in. The tswana are the most populous, and all citizens of botswana regardless of colour, ancestry or tribal affiliation are known as batswana plural or motswana singular. Culture and customs of botswana south african history online. The tswana language is closely related to sotho, and the two are mutually intelligible in most areas.
Culture of lesotho history, people, clothing, women. The domination of the country by the tswana polities has persisted in a nonethnic government through the easy assumption of the predominance of tswana people, language, and customs. The dance involves the women wearing tsonga traditional. The traditional tswana residential area is a compound, often housing several closely. Traditional tswana society included men, women, children and badimo ancestors, living dead, having metaphysical powers. Large groups of tswana speakers broke away from the main tswana kingdoms being the. The imvunulo dance only has one dancer and is done to show off traditional zulu attire and place in society. With its origin from the xitsonga language, its english direct translation meaning is hitting to the rhythm. Check out tswana dance by moremogolo tswana traditional dancers on amazon music. We have a dance for every occasion, be it a wedding, healing ritual or a coming of age ceremony, and these dances have been at the heart of our african heritage and history for millennia. Since its independence the republic of botswana has gained. Certain groups in the past were treated as serfs or subordinates by tswana, such as. Tswana material culture reflects the widespread intrusion of european goods and standards.
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