Troupes showcase beautiful polka dance in Khawa
The just ended Khawa Dune Challenge and Cultural Festival treated the audience to the beautiful Nama and Khoikhoi tribes’ traditional dance, polka, also known as Namastaap.
Different people from different corners of the country and internationally, who are affectionate of not just the diversity cultures but also adventurous tourism, witnessed different polka dances or Namastap from different polka groups from the Tsabong District.
The polka dancing groups each told different stories relating to their cultures through dance. Some of the groups were said to have showcased the Nama people’s traditional wedding proceedings. That included asking a bride’s family for their daughter’s hand in marriage till the wedding ceremony.
The beauty of the dance starts with the unique attires where females wear ancient-styled dresses and/or aprons just like the female house helpers used to wear many centuries ago abroad during slavery times while their male counterparts wore trousers, shirts and bow ties. Some chose to wear patched trousers. During their performances, each group outdid itself and attracted acting President, Slumber Tsogwane, and his delegation to join and bless them with some money.
Khawa Primary School kick-started the night’s performance with a splendid performance.
The youngsters proved to be growing well with immense talent in the polka as their performance attracted the attention of many revellers. Gareng Ga Dithota Polka Group from Khawa, !Khara Khoen Namastaap from Lokgwabe, Trek E’Ding Group from Vaalhoek, Tibesen Namastaap from Tsabong and Maq Die Ding Polka from Struizendum, outdid themselves as they presented magnificent performances leaving the audience mesmerised.
Kwena A Madi from Molepolole also delivered a sterling performance with their beautiful Sekwena dance where they also showcased how they used to plough in the past using cattle. Their performance was also part of the cultural exchange and left Tsabong residents asking for more.
However, the day could not be complete without the folklore poet showcasing the rich and beautiful Setswana language through poetry. Moabi Itaoleng, also famed as Halala Sebatana, treated the audience and dignitaries with a beautiful poem. In his poem, he highlighted the importance of the Chema Chema initiative.
According to the Real History of Botswana Facebook page, it explains that the Nama in older sources also called Namaqua were an African ethnic group from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They added that they traditionally spoke the Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama also speak Afrikaans.
The Nama People (or Nama-Khoe people) are said to be the largest group of the Khoikhoi people, most of whom had largely disappeared as a group, except for the Namas.
“Many of the Nama clans live in Central Namibia and the other smaller groups live in Namaqualand, which today straddles the Namibian border with South Africa.
For thousands of years, the Khoisan peoples of South Africa and southern Namibia maintained a nomadic life, the Khoikhoi as pastoralists and the San people as hunter-gatherers. The Nama are a Khoikhoi group. The Nama originally lived around the Orange River in southern Namibia and northern South Africa. The early colonialists referred to them as Hottentots,” they stated.