Nama gear up for cultural fiesta
The southern town of Keetmanshoop will spring to life this weekend, with hundreds expected to attend the first-ever Nama Cultural Festival.
The festival, which kicks off today and ends on Sunday, will celebrate the shared history of the Nama people. It will also be attended by various dignitaries, including cabinet ministers, members of parliament and traditional groups.
“This Nama Cultural Festival 2018, under the theme 'Nama Khoeda Ge', symbolises the celebration of the group's shared history and represents a collective endeavour to chart a way forward for our shared future and destiny,” said Dawid Eigub, chairperson of the organising committee.
He said a host of events are planned that seek to facilitate intergenerational transfer of values, customs, language and cultural norms. Panel discussions, exhibitions, presentations, cultural games, dance and a range of other exciting and educational activities are planned during the weekend.
“A traditional ceremony for the initiation of the Nama girl is planned for Thursday, as well as a performance on the traditional preparations for the birth of a child in the Nama community,” one of the organisers, Johan Fredericks, said.
Eigub further said the Nama community is still afflicted by dehumanising poverty and crippling social ills and therefore the festival is a rallying call for unity in their efforts to overcome many of the challenges facing them.
“As Nama people we want to reclaim our identity, re-ignite and re-awaken the spirit of oneness, renew and re-energise our God-given abilities and chart a totally new course in our pursuit of a great future. This first-of-its-kind Nama Cultural Festival therefore seeks to bring together all people of Nama descent from all over Namibia, Botswana and South Africa to celebrate who we are, our culture, our heritage, our language and our history,” he explained.
The festival, which kicks off today and ends on Sunday, will celebrate the shared history of the Nama people. It will also be attended by various dignitaries, including cabinet ministers, members of parliament and traditional groups.
“This Nama Cultural Festival 2018, under the theme 'Nama Khoeda Ge', symbolises the celebration of the group's shared history and represents a collective endeavour to chart a way forward for our shared future and destiny,” said Dawid Eigub, chairperson of the organising committee.
He said a host of events are planned that seek to facilitate intergenerational transfer of values, customs, language and cultural norms. Panel discussions, exhibitions, presentations, cultural games, dance and a range of other exciting and educational activities are planned during the weekend.
“A traditional ceremony for the initiation of the Nama girl is planned for Thursday, as well as a performance on the traditional preparations for the birth of a child in the Nama community,” one of the organisers, Johan Fredericks, said.
Eigub further said the Nama community is still afflicted by dehumanising poverty and crippling social ills and therefore the festival is a rallying call for unity in their efforts to overcome many of the challenges facing them.
“As Nama people we want to reclaim our identity, re-ignite and re-awaken the spirit of oneness, renew and re-energise our God-given abilities and chart a totally new course in our pursuit of a great future. This first-of-its-kind Nama Cultural Festival therefore seeks to bring together all people of Nama descent from all over Namibia, Botswana and South Africa to celebrate who we are, our culture, our heritage, our language and our history,” he explained.
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Namibian Sun
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