The book of unity
Dumisani Ncube | Friday February 24, 2017 17:13
Blue, Black and White play comes first in the book with Motswana: Africa, Dream Again being the last one.
Blue, Black and White has been set in a way that it is a play performed by multiracial school children at public schools during their history lesson. They perform a couple of scenes then their young history teacher explains why certain incidents occurred then the play continues again.
The play depicts the life story of Sir Seretse Khama and the struggles he went through to have his marriage with Lady Ruth Khama accepted by his family, Bangwato and the British regime. While staging the play, the multiracial school children get to understand the history of the country; how the society got to be structured the way it is.
As the reader you get to understand more of the Botswana history which is not documented that much especially on Sir Seretse Khama as an individual as the author had to research more on the first president of the country. In the book we get to understand that Sir Seretse Khama was an avid lover of jazz music, which even sparked more connection between him and Lady Khama.
Through the struggles faced by Sir Seretse Khama, the author depicts scenes that show how the first president fought to bring the concept of peace between the black and white communities in his village Serowe, Africa and in England where lady Khama originates.
While reading you quickly forget that it is a play and take it as if you are reading a book structured in a novel format. Humour is also found in the play on page 41 when villagers are gossiping about Sir Seretse Khama marrying a white woman. The villagers talk of how they are scared of greeting white people and if Lady Khama speaks English or Setswana.
Overall Blue, Black and White gives a picture of a united community as it brings out children from different racial backgrounds in public schools learning about the founding President of the country in a history lesson. Each scene and act has a name derived from various ethnic backgrounds with the notable one being scene three in Blue, Black and White which is called Etre Ophelins, a French term which means to be orphans.
The second installation of the book Motswana: Africa, Dream Again, a short play is centered on a family of three, a father Timothy Gulubani, a Mongwato who is a former politician, a mother Cecilia Gulubani who is of Kalanga origin and their 30-year-old son Boemo who is also a Member of Parliament.
Having parents from different backgrounds was not a big issue to Boemo who saw himself as a Motswana above all an African despite the political boarders created during colonialism. This did not settle well with his father who would only say that his son is loosing it.
Boemo had so much obsession seeing Africa and people of different ethnic groups as one as he would say, “I am the grandchild of the warrior men and women led by Kgosi Khama and Kgosi Sechele, the patriots that Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi took to battle, the solders that Kgosi Moshoeshoe and King Shaka Zulu….”.
In the play there are actual speeches from former South African president Thabo Mbeki, Philly Lutaaya, Sir Seretse Khama and Yvonne Vera’s work on Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi. These speeches and scripts also touch on the importance of people from different backgrounds uniting and the concept of Ubuntu.
The hidden message from all the plays is that we are all one despite the cultural backgrounds and boarder lines created by the colonial rule.
Both plays combined also show the objective and idea of the author of having a united and peaceful world despite ethnic backgrounds. The author is well travelled, he has performed and facilitated a number of events across the world meeting people of different backgrounds.