The event is a battle between two known local poets, Edwin Moroka otherwise known as Serurubele and Emmanuel Boefelo who goes by the stage name Mmasekgethu. Moroka is an award winning Setswana poet and writer.
He is a host of a programme on Duma FM called Sekhutlwana Sa Bannye that teaches kids Setswana language and culture. Boefelo is a poet, award winning culture promoter, radio teacher and writer.
He is passionate about creativity and culture, something that led to him taking part in many cultural activities locally and outside the country. One of the organisers of the event, Boefelo, told Arts & Culture that the event is meant to showcase the rich and deep Setswana language.
He said the event was first held in 2019. Boefelo said they want to use Ntwa Ya Puo to create a platform to use poetry to preserve Setswana culture, show its diversity and how oral traditions can be sustained and reinvigorated.
“As one of promoters of the Setswana cultural language, we want to use this event to promote the Setswana culture through poetry. As such, we will also have a panel discussion during the event whereby there will be an exchange of knowledge with the audience touching on our culture as well as our language,” said Boefelo. He said they have included Sekhutlwana Sa Bannye Poetry Academy to be part of the event. He explained that this is meant to expose them to Setswana culture from grass roots level.
“This is a platform for them to learn and grow their understanding of the Setswana culture, language and poetry,” he said. He stated that they have also invited a South African poet known as Segopa Sa Poko to be part of the event.
This, he said, is part of the event’s cultural exchange programme. “We plan to expose the Setswana poetry to other nations. By inviting other poets from other countries, we want to push the cultural and poetry exchange.
It will also help grow this event and make it one of the biggest poetry events in the local events calendar like Poet Okavanago and Maun International Poetry Festival and be in a position to attract international audiences,” he added. Boefelo said the intention is also to show Batswana that Setswana poetry can be commercialised and turned into a profession like any other art.
He said unlike in the past when a poet would be satisfied with being given a plate for reciting a praise poem for their chiefs, poetry is now a profession. “People should take it that way and know that one can eke a living out of this. We also want to encourage those with knowledge about Setswana poetry to come forward and register to get the recognition they deserve.”Boefelo said the event will be graced by among others, Dikgosi who are referred as custodians of the Setswana culture. On the day, Dilomakwati Traditional Group will also serenade patrons with their contemporary traditional songs.
Entrance fee for the event is P20 for kids and P100 for adults.
