In the current days, culture and language are almost getting lost with many people, particularly the youth, preferring to converse in English than their native language. In many homes in this 21st century, young parents raise children who only speak the second language especially in urban areas and completely ignoring Setswana language, making it hard for such children to converse with their cousins and or peers in rural areas and their grandparents. In a bid to make the Setswana language more appealing to the community including young people, two talented local traditional poets, Edwin Moroka, also known as Serurubele in the poetry industry, and Emmanuel Boefelo, known as Mmasekgethu, came together and hosted the third edition of Ntwa Ya Puo, a poetry event that brings together different folklore poets under one roof to showcase their talents in speaking Setswana.
On Saturday, a number of poetry lovers witnessed their favourite talented and most celebrated local folklore poets as they each unleashed their best performances at the Thapo Visual Arts in Gaborone. Surprisingly, all the poets were not only talented but also unique. Each won the hearts of the audience and kept them intrigued throughout the event. Their immense talent kept the audience cheering and some ululating, more especially the women while men nodded and made approving comments as they admired the poets' immense talent. During the performances, Mmangwao ya Setswana kick-started the event with her beautiful poem. Kaone Mahima and Modubathankga also recited beautiful poems. They were later followed by Poetic Blood who is also an author, who treated the audience to her beautiful poem named, 'Dikgang tsa Moagisanyi' that talked about love and family. Her poem stole the attention of revellers. She started it off by reciting in Sekgalagadi before proceeding to Setswana. Since the organisers decided to choose the best of the best, Senkgelabahiti also stole the limelight making the audience smile while there was a man, probably his friend if not a die-hard fan, who could not hide his excitement as he bluntly showered the poet, praising him whenever he took a few seconds of breather in between the poem. His beautiful and immense poem scored him new fans as well. Later on, the local praise folklore poet who has not only won the hearts of Batswana but also leaders such as Kgosi Puso Gaborone and President Mokgweetsi Masisi and other dignitaries, Moroka Moreri, showered the two talented poets, Serurubele and Mmasekgethu with praises.
In his poem and speech, he applauded the duo for their contribution in resuscitating traditional poetry and promoting Setswana language. He described them as naturally gifted poets who stop at nothing to celebrate their mother tongue and promote it. He further called on local poets to join hands and sell their talent saying together they could make poetry to be recognised as a craft that can make an impact in the local economy. He added that it was high time local traditional poets proved to the works that they were doing a remarkable job and contributed a lot in building the nation. "In the past, poets were the only ones allowed to use their talent to advise the kgosi and even tell him when he was not doing well. Even today, poets play a vital role in advising and reprimanding the leaders but in a polite way through poetry. If the kgosi was not doing something right, no one but the poet could tell him the truth. I want us to unite as local poets and sell our crafts beyond borders. It is high time we get the recognition we deserve. The public also has to know that to most of us, we use our talent to make a living and therefore shall respect and take our talent as a business. Let's not allow foreigners to dictate to us how we live our lives and tell us how to live in our country. Let us unite and grow our industry," he said. Mmasekgethu and Serurubele also unleashed their best performances and they proved to the audience why they are regarded as the kings of folklore poetry.
The duo then later read poems from their poetry books that had been recently published. Their poems were not only rich in Setswana but were also educational. The night was indeed memorable for both the audiences, aspiring poets and established poets. Giving the review for the event, Mmasekgethu said just like music artists, it was high time poets get the same accolades. He added that they should be accorded the same treatment as other artists and get paid with cash rather than being given a plate of food as payment . "I urge poets to create their own poems and stop copying or confidently using other poets' poems. They should come together, unite and grow the industry together. Let us also take ourselves seriously so that other people also take us seriously. Let us refrain from cheap labour since we are all here to make a living. Ntwa Ya Poko caters for every people of different ages including children. Let us grow this event together and ensure that we get the recognition we deserve. Let's also register with relevant stakeholders such as COSBOTS and others to secure our talents and avoid copyright issues," he said.
