Mooketsi masters the art of playing nkokwana
Chippa Legodimo | Friday November 28, 2014 14:27
While Mooketsi prepared himself for his performance members of the audience appeared completely surprised and waited anxiously for the first sound from the large instrument resembling Segaba.
Preparing for his performance took quite some time as he wanted to ensure he get the best results in terms of sound from his nkokwana.
First he brought on stage two five-litre tins on stage, put them very close to each other and the strategically positioned so that the bottom part of his instrument would have direct contact with the containers.
Nkokwana is a traditional instrument popular among the Balete tribe.
It is made of a mokgalo tree branch, which is bent from both ends to create a semi-circle shape. A string is then tied to both ends of the wood and on the one end a metal container is attached in the same way it is done with segaba. But unlike segaba, the other end of nkokwana has to be placed on top of the two containers to produce sound.
The curiosity that filled the room was quickly turned into jubilant cheers of approval from the crowd as Mooketsi demonstrated both skill and precision in creating various melodies from his ‘funny’ instrument.
As Mooketsi calmly tickled and pressed the string with his fingers a musical mystery was unravelled and the crowd just loved it. With his performance gaining momentum, the Ramotswa man used his chin to compress the string to produce a throbbing bass.
It has been 40 years since Mooketsi was introduced to the instrument by his uncle and over the years he has mastered the art of playing it.
“Nkokwana originates from Gamalete. Even if you see someone playing it elsewhere that person would have first seen it in Gamalete or it would have been introduced o them by a Molete. My uncle was and is still one of the best players of this instrument. He and other elders who played it before me taught me how to do it,” Mooketsi told Arts & Culture.
The instrument was mainly used by herd boys, especially during their past time when the daily chores would be done.
“As young boys we would make a big fire in the evening and play nkokwana as a way of relaxing. We would take turns in playing and that helped us become better players because everyone wanted to sound more creative than the others,” he said.
Mooketsi who is also part of the popular Ditlhaka group in Ramotswa, told Arts & Culture that he used to play another unfamiliar instrument called seboko in a similar mould as segaba, but with a rubber band for a string.
“Both instruments might not be popular now, but they have a good history among Balete. Nkokwana is a very old instrument because I am told our grand parents used kgole for the string, but since my childhood I have used a metal string and I have never seen one with a different material,” Mooketsi said.
While nkonwana forms part of Balete heritage and culture Mooketsi has decried the fact that the organisers of the annual President’s Day music and art competitions.
“We have been told that since nkokwana is only found in Ga Malete we would have no competition. But we were surprised because these competitions were meant to promote different cultures, they are not a poverty eradication scheme,” he said.