Motlhaolosa vows to preserve Setswana culture
Motlhaolosa Poetry Ensemble, an organisation known to celebrate Setswana culture, held its first workshop with the objective to celebrate, puo ya Setswana, poko, botlhami and bokwadi among others over the weekend. The event was organised with the main aim being to help preserve the Setswana culture that seems to be perishing right before the people’s eyes especially the young generation who are more comfortable with speaking the English language.
Lepata Mafa-Nthomola, Communications Manager for Orange Botswana, encouraged the writers, authors, poets, artists and many others to take advantage of the Internet space and go digital to make it easy for themselves to be able to push the content they produce. She said studies have proven that people are moving from analogue to digital, and by going digital they will be able to reach the young generation.
In order to preserve the Setswana culture that seems to be going extinct in Botswana, Mafa-Nthomola revealed that Orange Botswana has an initiative that helps with preserving culture known as the Digital School Programme in which the organisation partnered with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development.
The programme currently offers the material for primary education level for all subjects including the most decorated subject in the country, the Setswana subject. “The DSP is soon set to venture into providing the studying material for the Junior Secondary School level,” she said. Mafa-Nthomola also pleaded with the Motlhaolosa Poetry Ensemble to help teach the young generation how to design and make tlatlana, go suga letlalo, as these are some of the things that seem to be going extinct in the Setswana culture.
Speaking at the workshop, Moroka Moreri of Motlhaolosa, said the Setswana culture is one culture that should never be allowed to go extinct in Botswana. He said the Setswana culture is something that should always be associated with Batswana as it is the one that defines us. He said his wish is to see Botswana holding its own Setswana poetry awards as a way to celebrate and appreciate the talent in the country.
Meanwhile, Joyce Mbalekelwa, a publisher from Macmillan Botswana revealed the necessary steps to follow for those who are interested in publishing. “There are three steps that we have as an organisation that you should know if you want to publish with us. The first step one that we normally check is if the manuscript that the writer has follows the Botswana curriculum, and this step is the prescription market, where we liaise with the Ministry of Education to make sure that the manuscript adheres to the Botswana curriculum.
The second step is the one called out of prescription, which can be deemed as a risky publication as sometimes this is the one that normally does not adhere to the Botswana curriculum and the last step being the sponsored publication whereby the aspiring writer has a sponsor that is willing to cover the costs of his/her publication” said Mbalekelwa.
The Motlhaolosa Poetry Ensemble intends to continue holding such kinds of workshops regularly.