African cultural groups to mesmerise South Africa

28 Aug 2008

African cultural groups take centre stage this month when Gcwala-Ngamasiko, a traditional music and dance initiative aimed at preserving, uniting and celebrating cultural diversity across the continent comes to South Africa.

The cultural event comes just in time when the country is to kick-start the national celebrations of Heritage Month in September under the theme “Celebrating our dance, our heritage.”

Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) spokesperson, Sandile Memela said the event was aimed at uplifting and preserving African indigenous knowledge, cultural history, heritage, ubuntu and customary values among Africans.

“We are expecting cultural groups from Ghana, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia and Swaziland. We are also awaiting groups from Mozambique, DRC, Ivory Coast, Botswana, Nigeria and Mali, who will arrive in South Africa on Wednesday, 3 September, to exchange their rich cultures and traditions with their counterparts in the country through dialogue, music and dance workshops,” Memela said.

“We will see cultural groups such as Yemgaranaayili Cultural Group from Ghana, Ruciteme Cultural Group from Burundi, Abbi Kikwe Band and Kayamba Africa from Kenya, meet South Africa's multi-ethnic groups who are equally passionate about preserving and celebrating their African cultures,” he said.

The initiative hosted by the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) in partnership with the African Cultural Music and Dance Association (ACUMDA), supported by the nine provincial governments and the respective municipalities, is a five-day cultural extravaganza, from 3-7 September.

Cultural activities, involving interactive workshops are expected to take place in the various South African provinces on the days leading to the grand finale of the celebrations at the Five Roses Bowl in Mofolo, Soweto, on Sunday, 7 September, where all the groups will showcase their cultural pride.

ACUMDA spokesperson, Benjamin Mfaba said: “ACUMDA was established in 1994 and has given birth to a number of unique projects, including the Gcwala-Ngamasiko initiative, which was established in 2004 to further deepen cultural integration and ensure that Africans embrace each other regardless of nationality, race, creed or religion, hence the joint partnership with DAC that started in 2007, to foster relationships across ethnic and national groups on the African continent.”

Mfaba said all nine South African provinces will be hosting 13 countries from other parts of Africa starting next week, to participate in the cultural workshops to be held.

“The Gcwala-Ngamasiko workshops are set to start on 4 September, followed by daily activities that include road shows to sensitise the public of the event and its purpose in and around Gauteng areas such as Soweto, Pretoria, Ekurhuleni, Sedibeng and West Rand on days leading to the big event on Sunday,” Mfaba said.