Volume 51 Issue 1 - January 2013 : Entertainment
Botswana and its National Heritage
Author : Sandy Grant
Title: Botswana and its National Heritage
Reviewer: Pako Lebanna
Publisher: Melrose Books
Author: Sandy Grant
In its introduction, Sandy Grant presents the Book as “a first to be published on the national heritage of Botswana, each topic chosen because it is of national significance and/or importance.
Admittedly some of the topics covered such as the flogging of Phineas Macintosh and the 1948 marriage of Seretse and Ruth Khama have been the subject of other published works, but the reader will find new insight into various issues such as craft, clothing, bojalwa (alcohol/beer), the old Capitol Cinema in Gaborone, plus the heritages of Tswana towns such as Kanye, Molepolole, Serowe and Mochudi.
As Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Margaret Nasha notes in the foreword, “that Sandy Grant has decided to keep this book clear and simple, is commendable, and it will no doubt provide appeal to everybody who desires to access information on Botswana`s past, culture and beliefs.”
That has to be the strong point of the book, its readability to those who may not seek a complex scholarly approach, but still seek to understand the nation`s heritage. There are many illustrations, such as part of the souvenir brochure for the formal opening of Capitol Cinema in the Gaborone Main Mall on June 1970, and pictures of villages like Molepolole from as far back as 1919.
On Molepolole (Chapter 11), the book elucidates the conditions that led to the 1864 decision by the Kwena Chief Sechele I to move his capital town from Kolobeng, near Gaborone to Ntsweng in Molepolole, where Bakwena today hold their annual Dithubaruba festival. The book sheds light on the heritage sites developed in Molepolole since its establishment by Sechele in 1864.
On “The Three Bangwato Capitals: Shoshong, Old Palapye and Serowe” (Chapter 13), Grant notes that, “the three towns, Shoshong, Old Palapye and Serowe, were the historical power axis around which much of modern Botswana was built.” The book describes the decisions taken by the Bangwato leadership that informed their settling at the three settlements and the conditions that informed those decisions.
After the chapter that describes the kgotla, its functions and roles and heritage to the Batswana (Chapter 15), the book gives insight on Kanye (Chapter 16), with Grant noting, “of all the major traditional towns, Kanye is undoubtedly the jewel,” (Grant 2012: 66)
The book notes that “50 years ago it was repeatedly stated as fact that Kanye and Serowe, with virtually identical populations of 35 000, were the largest villages in Sub-Saharan Africa. They were also significantly larger than the next most populous of the major Tswana settlements. Since then, however Molepolole has outgrown both- but all three continue to be very large settlements, each with its own ‘feel` and characteristics.”
Grant notes the visit of Robert Moffat (in 1824 and later 1857). The chapter explains the evolution of Kanye, during the reign of rulers such as Makaba (1790-1824), Seepapitso II (1884-1916), and Bathoen II (1924-1968)
Those looking for lighter, ‘human interest` accounts, will find the chapters on clothing, craft and bojalwa particularly interesting.