AfriCAN award for Xitsonga poet Masingita
Author Ntombhi Ya Mutsonga believes writing is one way of preserving indigenous languages' heritage and culture.
LIMPOPO – Multi-award winning praise singer, Masingita Shibambu who drives her movements to promote arts and cultural identity, won an AfriCAN Annual Global Honoree Author’s Award for her first poetry anthology, Xewani.
Better known as Ntombhi Ya Mutsonga, Shibambu entered the collection of 55 Xitsonga poems in the category of indigenous poetry book of the year, and says it was an honour to have won the award among 717 authors from 27 selected countries.
“This is such a milestone for me as an author, and readers can definitely look forward to more books. “Writing is one way of preserving our indigenous languages’ heritage and culture.”
She dedicated the award to all pillars of Ntombhi Ya Mutsonga, she said. “It is for those who promote and have purchased my book. Through this award, I am inspired to embark on a journey of 10 000 Book Drive, where I’ll be donating books to various schools in various provinces.”
She said the aim is to inspire and encourage reading and writing. “I want to inspire up-and-coming writers to write and publish their craft. My main focus is underprivileged schools that lack facilities such as libraries. We want to raise a nation that can read for meaning, in order for them to engage in meaningful conversations.”
The African Honorary Author Awards were founded by award-winning entrepreneur, author and international speaker, Anthea Thyssen-Ambursley and aim to connect passionate creative writers of African origin all over the world and honour them for publishing works that ensure African content contributes to global literary expressions.
