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20 September 2008

Programme director
Honourable Member of Executive Council (MEC)
Amakhosi neeNduna, KwaZulu-Natal
Chairperson of the Msunduzi-Ncome Museum Council, Prof Z.L M Khumalo
The regional manager of the South African Heritage Resources Agency in KwaZulu-Natal province, Prof L Mathenjwa
Senior government officials
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Sanibonani

It is, indeed, a privilege and a pleasure to be invited to come to Ncome, once again, and to celebrate with you our heritage. Heritage month marks one of the important celebrations in our calendar, our theme for this year's heritage month celebration (as you know) is 'Celebrate our dance, Celebrate our Heritage', meaning that throughout this month we are celebrating our living heritage in the form of dance.

This living heritage, also known as intangible cultural heritage, has always been central to our culture since time immemorial. It has, throughout the years been the source of our joys and has continued to give us a sense of identity.

Heritage month also presents us with an opportunity to create a platform for African communities to unite, celebrate and preserve Africa's diverse indigenous cultures. Living heritage is the mainspring (chief motivating force/incentive) of our cultural diversity and I believe that it is through dance and music, in the main, that we will able to achieve the society we are yearning for, which is peaceful and prosperous, 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.

The President of the Republic of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, reminded us that "a nation without a past is a lost nation, A people without a past is a people without a soul." I'm sure that all of us gathered here today will agree that dance is also a compelling force that makes people from diverse cultural backgrounds to meet and begin, not only to understand each other, but also to respect and appreciate our different but common cultural heritage.

This happens when people from different walks of life share their diverse cultural heritage, mixing socialising and appreciating their diverse but common cultural heritage. The Gcwala ngamasiko African Cultural and Dance Festival, which was recently hosted by the Department of Arts and Culture, is testimony to this, as it is an initiative aiming towards uniting Africans.

I am, indeed, privileged to have had an opportunity to witness these wonderful and invigorating dance performances offered by artists and dancers from this part of our country which has a very rich history of cultural heritage. I would encourage that indigenous forms of dance, as an artistic expression and skill, be professionalised in the same way as some of the dances in Western cultures (for example, ballet) are rated.

I believe that dance can impact upon the psyche of a nation and, therefore, can be used as an effective tool for improving human relations both nationally and internationally. The preservation and promotion of our tangible cultural heritage cannot be overemphasised. This is the role that our museums have played over many years. Museums have in the past been responsible only for collecting, conserving, researching and displaying tangible objects.

But more recently, we have experienced a change in the way they have doing things. Museums have adopted a more people centred approach and have included in their programme the preservation of both the tangible and the intangible heritage resources, hence this celebration which is hosted by the Msunduzi-Ncome museum today.

It is important that museums should be able to assist in driving these elements of heritage so that they can serve as relevant spaces for communities. I am pleased that Msunduzi-Ncome have recognised this as articulated in their mission statement which reads, "Ncome museum is committed to enhance an understanding and appreciation of the diverse histories of all of KwaZulu-Natal."

The museum's response will assist a great deal in addressing the social challenges facing our country. Communities should begin to look at how they can use of the museum space to address these challenges taking advantage of the fact that the Msunduzi-Ncome Museum is located in rural area.

It is, therefore, important that the Msunduzi-Ncome museum as a cultural institution should continue with its transformation of museumology by organising ceremonials, re-enactments, and commemorations to mark key milestones of our diverse cultural heritage and also to form partnership with institutions all over the world, in particular in the African continent, that share the same programmes and ideals.

As this community is today celebrating "Our Dance, Our Heritage" here at Msunduzi-Ncome museum, it needs to think of how they can work together with the museum to shape and improve the quality of life and that of generations to come.

This community needs to think very critically about how it will effectively use dance and music to promote unity in diversity, social cohesion and Ubuntu. Therefore, as we celebrate Heritage month 2008, I would like to encourage you to revive our dances and popularise them in the communities where we live. History tells us that Amabutho, led by Ndlela ka Sompisi under King Dingane, sang and danced here on the same ground where we are gathered today. But those were songs and dances of war, different from what we are doing today.

Today the songs that we sing are of a different tune. Our dances are of a different movement. Today we dance and sing for peace, unity and reconciliation. We are demonstrating that we have put our differences aside. Nowadays, we have an annual dance festival which is held at the battle site on the 16 December, which is normally attended by over 4 000 people.

Every year on this date, thousands of people from our communities gather here and another community on the other side of the stream. We must begin to look at how we can bring them together, at the same time safeguarding their distinct intangible cultural heritage. For example, we can fuse our indigenous dances and those of the Voortrekkers in the same way our artists have developed the fusion of the indlamu and Indian dance.

This will strengthen our efforts of promoting reconciliation between the communities who continue to hold separate commemorations on the 16 December. It is my plea that both these communities put their differences aside and help advance reconciliation, peace, development and prosperity in our country which will help to bring a united South African society in its diversity. Let us heed the call of our President Thabo Mbeki which is "Business Unusual, all hands on deck to speed up change". Let us be the change we want to see. We can use our dance to effect that change.

In conclusion, on behalf of the Ministry and the Department of Arts and Culture, I would like to commend the Msunduzi-Ncome Museum Council, the management and staff members, for organising such a wonderful and magnificent event to mark one of the important months in our calendar, the Heritage month. You have done us proud! I would like to single out particularly the director, Bongani Ndhlovu, for making sure that I am invited to this event.

Ngiyabonga kuwo wonke aMakhosi ngokuzimasa lomsitho umkhulu ngaka!!!!!! ngiyabonga
Kumphakathi wonke!

Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
20 September 2008
Source: Department of Arts and Culture (http://www.dac.gov.za)