Colourful mapantsula spread positive message in Moshupa
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Tuesday March 7, 2023 06:00
The ladies and gentlemen of Botswana Pantsula Association (BPA) looked fabulous and made Moshupa colourful with their fashionable outfits such as Dickies pants and the notorious kitchen-suit worn by domestic workers, t-shirts, shirts mostly check ones, stripe golf t-shits, trousers or shorts and bucket hats popularly known as spoti.
They proved that pantsula is more than just dance but also a culture, fashion and a way of life for many. At it is a norm, they danced to various disco music showcasing the beauty of their culture. The event attracted a number of mapantsula from different places in the Southern region such as Lobatse, Kanye, Jwaneng, Ranaka and Thamaga.
The event was not just a parade but also pantsula dance competition where mapantsula used their dance talents to convey the ‘Donty ka Thipa/Okapi’ message and some of them entertained revellers with sterling performances.
Amongst beautiful performances were that of Bafana Ba Teemane from Jwaneng, Ga Maila, Loxion Classic who made sure they cautioned their peers against using or even carrying knives or even engaging in criminal acts. Ladies pantsulas also showcased their dancing skills and most of them did well but there was a young woman who stole the audience’s hearts with her magical performance.
They also made sure that they relayed the anti knives message to the audience. They did show the uniqueness of the pantsula dance. While addressing the gathering, Gammanaana Pantsula Association head of disciplinary, Mogami Kooreme said there were young people who roamed the streets at night stealing from the community, beating people and even stabbing them with knives yet calling themselves pantsulas. He said pantsulas do not engage in such heinous acts because they respect themselves. He added that pantsulas were humble and respectable people. “It is important and useful to hold this meeting. This is a big milestone for our village. We need change of mindset.
Our youth think being a pantsula means stabbing people with Okapi. They have to know that they have to respect themselves and refrain from crime. Let us also fight against gender based violence. We also have to focus on the root cause of GBV than just focusing on victims. Women also abuse men but men do not report because they are afraid of stigma,” said Moshupa/Manyana MP secretary Ronald Lekokoma. Botswana Pantsula Association president Peter Modise said they have 47 branches across the country and thousands members.
He added that since they established the association, Sepantsola grew drastically. He also said the association focused on GBV, drugs and alcohol abuse and also gives back to the community. He added that 80% of their members were the youth who most of them were unemployed hence the need to host the ‘Donty Ka Okapi’ campaign and competitions with the help of the MYSC to improve their lives. He said MYSC assisted them with P400,000 to prepare for the competitions.