Culture may die if…
Sir,
Culture plays an important role in social cohesion. It serves to unite people, irrespective of race, religion and political affiliation, among other grounds. It is an umbrella under which all find identity and express themselves. Most legal instruments on economic, social and cultural rights guarantee the entitlement to express oneself in a cultural manner.
In Eswatini, one such way is through participating in cultural events, being free to wear traditional garb, and for men, to join the regiments through a process known as kubutseka. Attending cultural events, under the custodianship of the institution of the Monarch, should not be construed in any political way.
It is not at all supposed to be seen as an endorsement of a political hegemony or ideology. I have long held the view that, in the kingdom, this is not quite the case.
Events
in cultural events myself due to these blurred lines between politics and culture. The institution of the monarchy, with all its traditional structures, should be similar to a church and be embracing of the people who subscribe to it, in all their diversity.
Acceptance
Under culture, all emaSwati must find acceptance and refuge. Under the fatherhood of their King, they must know that they are in a safe space, irrespective of their political affiliations. This is where we fail to preserve the purity of culture and use it as political ammunition, alienating many emaSwati in the process.
It would appear that what is expected is blind patronage. This is wrong at many levels. Traditional events, by the way, are run using huge amounts of money that comes from the taxpayer. Funds are committed to these events because they are seen to have unifying factors and are also a huge a tourist attraction. Nobody, therefore, should have the right to alienate people from them on political grounds. If we continue this way, we really risk people not wanting to associate themselves with such events. With the level of political consciousness that we have now, people, especially the youth, will start viewing culture as a tool of oppression. If we are to preserve our culture, its custodians must sanitise it of politics. Let culture be a broad church where all can see it as safe space and participate voluntarily without any fear of reprisal for holding divergent political ideas. If we fail to do so, our culture may die with the political system if or when it reaches its expiry date.