A Night Of Celebrating Botho, Culture
Dumisani Ncube | Monday August 21, 2017 16:52
The festival featured performances from acts such as Barolong Seboni, Leshie Lovesong, Tefo Paya, Gaborone Youth Singers, Mogwana Dance Group, Zeus and the Ravi Sisters.
The idea behind the festival was to engage the dynamics of dialogue and Botho in the country in conjuction with the Dalai Lama Conference.
The night started off with veteran Seboni reciting a poem titled Windsongs Of The Kgalagadi, which spoke of the physical structures and features that the Kgalagadi region boasts of.
Storytelling by Paya, spoke of how dialogues are handled in the country at a Kgotla with villagers assembling to discuss various issues, as Mogwana Dance Group came on stage wearing traditional attire, dancing and singing.
While at it, Seboni and Leshie Lovesong went on stage to do a duet love poem titled Baratani Mountains, which had the two telling each other sweet nothings.
“Suddenly the words came to be and I cried ravagelly with your love clothe me with your sense of power, clothe me as I enter your heart to discover the secret of love. Let me listen to the legendary lover,” were some of the words spoken by Seboni as he recited the poem.
Immediately after that, they were joined by Gaborone Youth Singers who came to the Kgotla to serenade with Di Kae Tsa Bogadi as they celebrated the Baratani Mountains couple.
The celebrations got intense with Mogwana Dance Group exhibiting some dance moves and songs.
While at it, the Ravi Sisters joined everyone on stage displaying Tharangam dance moves, which have been generalised by many as Indian dance while wearing their traditional garb. Their presence on stage reminded the audience that Botswana might be an African country, but it is also a home to people who come from different backgrounds.
The last leg of the night was more into the musical aspect with a high tempo. Gaborone Youth Choir performed their last piece. Leshie Lovesong returned to the stage with a guitarist and pianist, she performed one of her old songs Satellites And Stars closing with Dinaledi.
Rapper Zeus also came on stage with a band that added some jazzy funk to his performance. He performed a number of tracks from his upcoming album and his old tracks such as Mama Africa from his previous album, African Time.