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4 October 2008

Excellencies Hosi Adv Mahumani Nkomo and Prince Tsunduka Mahumani
The Honourable Minister of Labour, Mr Mdladlana
Honourable Minister of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), Mr Baloyi
His Excellency the Ambassador of Mozambique
His Excellency the Ambassador of Botswana
Members of the Limpopo Provincial Government
Members of the judiciary
Members of the Royal Councils
Chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders (NHTL) Khosi Kutama, and
Members of the Houses of Traditional Leadership
Executive Mayor and members of the local councils
Academics and business people
Government officials
Members of Mahumani Nkomo Royal Community
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Ndi matsheloni, Abucheni

Let me first take this opportunity to thank the Mahumani Royal Council and the community for inviting me once again to come and celebrate our culture and heritage with you today.

It was regrettable that I could not attend last year's celebrations. Having seen the cross-cultural performances and interaction today, I realise that I missed out on a wonderful experience.

As a nation we celebrate our heritage and culture throughout the year, in our everyday lives, but the month of September has been set aside to highlight specific aspects of our heritage. The theme for this year's heritage month is "Celebrate our dance, celebrate our heritage."

Heritage Month presents us with a unique opportunity to create a platform for all our communities to unite and celebrate our diverse indigenous cultures. Living heritage is the mainspring (chief motivating force/incentive) of our cultural diversity and I believe that it is through celebrations such as this one that we will be able to achieve the society we are yearning for; a society that is peaceful, prosperous, and united in its diversity. It is for this reason that the legacy of dance, as well as music and other manifestations of intangible cultural heritage, must be preserved for future generations.

I would like to commend the Mahumani Royal Council and the entire Mahumani Royal Community for their insight in conceptualising this initiative in the way that they did and for having been able to sustain it since 2002.

The initial purpose of this initiative as I understand it, was to celebrate the culture of the Tsonga people and to promote the Soutini-Baleni heritage site. But, I think what we all need to appreciate today is that this celebration is no longer an event to celebrate and showcase the cultural heritage of the Tsonga people only. This celebration has been expanded to include the diverse cultural heritage of our country. In time this celebration may be elevated to become a national event. What is also significant is that by extending invitations to our neighbour, Mozambique to participate in these celebrations strengthens the relations between the two countries.

"We are children of a rich heritage" (to borrow former President Thabo Mbeki's words), a heritage which predates the colonial period. For many centuries our culture, our heritage and our language have been marginalised and sometimes distorted. We were forced into accepting foreign cultures by the colonial masters. Over the centuries we gradually lost our cultural values and in turn, our pride and our dignity as a nation.

When we attained our liberation in 1994 we vowed to reverse this situation. The right to use our indigenous languages and to participate in the cultural life of our choice has now been entrenched in our constitution. People belonging to a cultural, religious or linguistic community may not be denied the right to enjoy their culture, to practice their religion, to use their language and enjoy other cultural freedoms.

As a nation, we need to encourage initiatives such as the Mahumani Nkomo heritage and cultural celebration so that our culture and heritage can be appreciated and enjoyed as an integral part of being African.

We are a people that embrace the values of ubuntu. We believe that "muthu ndi muthu nga munwe" (umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu). Our children and our grandchildren need to understand this philosophy. They need to know who we are and where we come from. They must begin to appreciate our cultural values and our heritage which they have to preserve and pass on to the next generation. They look up to us as their role models. As parents, it is our responsibility to instil positive values in our children – values of ubuntu – show respect and concern for other people especially the elderly; uphold honour and integrity and respect human dignity and family values.

The institution of traditional leadership, as custodian of our culture, our values and our heritage, is therefore better-placed to promote these values and safeguard our tangible and intangible indigenous cultural heritage.

Another challenge, however, has been how we use our rich heritage to promote unity, national reconciliation, nation building and social cohesion in our diversity. The significance of this celebration is that it begins to respond to this challenge. It has, within the five or six years of its existence, made a tremendous impact. It has contributed to the improvement of the quality of life of the Mahumani Nkomo community. It also has a potential of extending its impact to other South African communities as well as communities in our neighbouring countries like Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This is an excellent way of promoting the African renaissance.

I also understand that the Soutini-Baleni Heritage site forms part of the legacy of this community and that it was declared a Natural Heritage Site in 1999. According to archaeological excavations indigenous people of this area used to make salt from these sacred fountains. The site is of great significance to us, as a nation, and the coming generations both as a historical and a cultural heritage site. We must commend the Mahumani Traditional Authority for ensuring that the site is protected and secured for posterity.

I believe that this heritage site has a great potential of serving as an information, research and development centre. It also has a great potential of stimulating economic activity and tourism which will go a long way in addressing the challenges of unemployment and poverty. Government and the private sector need to support the Mahumani Community Development Trust and together come up with creative ways of packaging and marketing this heritage site for the benefit of the communities.

It is pleasing to note that a number of projects have already been initiated in this community and we would encourage government departments and the private sector to consider supporting some of these initiatives.

The Mahumani Nkomo Royal Council and the community is leading the way in building a better life for all. There are lessons to be learnt in what they are doing for all of us. They have shown us how to use our rich cultural heritage to foster a national identity and pride that makes us a great nation.

And in the words of former President Thabo Mbeki, we must remember that "as we dance, sing, eat and drink from the same source, we are forging a new society which knows no discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, ethnicity, gender. We need to break down racial, tribal and gender boundaries and instead invoke the traditions that bind us as nation, as South Africans and as human beings."

Once again, I would like to congratulate the Mahumani Nkomo Royal Council and community for organising this wonderful event and for inviting all of us to come and celebrate with them.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
4 October 2008
Source: Department of Arts and Culture (http://www.nda.agric.za)