Bana Bana Ba Ntogwa confirms Dzo-gwilila tour

Kgomotso Molelekeng | Tuesday December 10, 2013 15:43

 

The group manager, Daniel Diamond revealed to Showbiz that they decided to start the tour from December 20 to 30.  He mentioned that the tour is dubbed ‘Dzo-gwilila’ as many people will be home for the festive season. “Dzo-gwilila means it is time to get back home so this tour caters for mostly our fans who work and stay in far away places like Gaborone, Jwaneng and other but are originally from the north,” he said.

The group will start the tour at Marapong where they are booked to perform live on the 20th.  They will then proceed to Sebina the next day and move on to Nswanzwi on the 22nd.  Tutume will on the 23rd play host to the group while Makaleng will see the ensemble on the 24th. The tour will also include Casper The Golden Voice, Kabo Leburu and Trans Kalahari Jazz Quientet.  They will grace Domboshaba village on the 30th before perfoming in Masunga.

“Performing live in these villages will boost the group’s confidence as they have recently started performing live. In the past time they used (to lip-synch to) a CD during their performance,” he added.

He went on to say that the group would perform different iKalanga dances for the audience. This he said is their way of preserving the iKalanga culture and reminding people that they can still have fun while appreciating their roots and heritage.

“We are known of our breathtaking dances that include Hosana, Ndazula, Woso, Mantsumani and Sangoma. People should expect this as we have been preparing for this tour. We are going to make Batswana fall in love with us,” he said. The group has a new DVD out and Diamond mentioned that the sales have been very impressive as they are able to even reach people outside the country.

“Our music is not only viewed local but it has crossed boarders. We recently uploaded the DVD online and it has instantly become one of the most viewed videos. This is good news to us as we get money every time the DVD is viewed,” he said. The DVD has six songs and a bonus track. The group visited India in 2010 where they represented the country in heritage day.  It won a Botswana Musician Union (BOMU) award for best traditional group in 2009 for their album Ntogwa Thobela. The Francistown-based group consists of 10 dancers and singers who are grandchildren of the late Ntogwa, a Hosana dancer from Nswazwi village.