Maikano Celebrates Culture Day
Chippa Legodimo | Monday June 23, 2014 14:22
The baritoned poet told students during the school’s culture day that having a keen interest in Setswana opened up opportunities for him. He said Setswana continues to play a pivotal role in his life. “I am a living example of the fact that if you take your language seriously, you can make a career out of it.
It was because of my interest in Setswana that I got jobs on both radio and television. I remember when Botswana Television employed me some years back. They emphasised that of the four new readers they employed at the time, I was the best for the Setswana bulletin,” he said. He called on students to fight to preserve their mother tongue, as it is part of their identity.
“Remember what happened during the riots in June 16, 1976 in South Africa? Those students lost their lives defending their mother tongues. I am not saying you should fight, but I am only trying to show the extent to which other nations will go,” he said. Phuthego also emphasised that various traditional Tswana practices played a big role in the lives of Batswana and that some of them could still be useful today. However, the popular poet expressed concern that some valuable practices were tossed aside in favour of western methods.
“Certain practices such as thobega were used and worked well for medical purposes. People and livestock used to break their limbs and were treated using thobega. They would heal perfectly. To show that it worked, the bones of an animal that has been treated this way would still have the crossed marks even after death,” he said. He also said that before the popularisation of paediatricians, there were traditional doctors who specialised in treating children and had an impressive record.
Phuthego said he and veteran Tswana traditional poet Moroka Moreri are making a livelihood out of cultural music and poetry. He implored students to follow their example. The poet said Batswana should follow culturally inclined nations like the British who, he said, respect their kings and queens.
“If there is anything to copy from such western nations it should be such things. We should respect our traditional leaders in a similar way,” he said. He added that everyone is born with a unique talent and that some are destined to unearth their talent if they followed their culture.