Mapungubwe Festival kicks off

LIMPOPO – MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, Onicca Moloi, officially launched the Mapungubwe Arts and Heritage Festival at the Mapungubwe World Heritage site outside Musina last Tuesday.

She said the festival does not only serve as entertainment, but also as a way to unite people from different cultural backgrounds and allows people to get to know one another as well as their languages and cultures.
“It is worth pointing out that this year we have made an effort to enhance the footprint of the festival by expanding it to other districts of the province,” she explains.
“Through this we also want to foster social cohesion and nation-building as well as showcasing the best of South African artists, and in particular, artists from Limpopo. Our province is unique compared to the other provinces. We are known as a peaceful province with warm and welcoming citizens.
She further says traditional leaders remain the true custodians of their cultural heritage.
“The simulation of the traditional court in Tjate, Sekhukhune is a testament that we treasure the immense contribution of the traditional leadership in resolving disputes in our communities,” Moloi says.
Siyaphi Shirilele from Musina Municipality, says the unveiling of the Mapungubwe Festival in their municipality means a lot to them.
“We believe this will not be the end as we hope the festival will be hosted in our municipality in the future,” says Shirilele.
The main festival will be hosted at the Polokwane Cricket Club on 17 December.
thoko@nmgroup.co.za