Story is about "Believer's Creative Minds"(NPC) sharing the knowledge and Wisdom to success brought from our tradition and culture through performing art. This is a stage production called, "MPHABADIMO" in our Southern Sotho language, meaning "Ancestors Gift". The production is a musical stage production narrated through Storytelling, Traditional music and dance and Poetry. I am an experienced teacher in community theatre-based, : (African traditional music and dance, drama, poetry, storytelling, dance choreographer, wall tapestry crafting, Post Natural building system, Events organizer and also a Community Art development worker.
What skills and resources were you able to draw from the community for this project?
I 've learned much from the elders at home and the Community through a research I made. This information brought us to the knowledge that, "Mpho ya badimo" is a law of nature, without written memorials but orally transmitted. This is a believed knowledge and wisdom, Opinions and practices from the Creator to our Fourfathers, from the Fourfathers to decendants, from Ancestors to Posterity and from Fathers to Sons. This project of "Ancestors gift" is a production about a Cultural feast of which anyone can perform, where one will inform his/her family about the feast. They will then inform their relatives, their neighbours, their friends nearby and far away, and anyone, even those who are not invited will come to celebrate with them. At this kind of feast, the person in charge will then prepare food and drinks for anyone who will show up at the ceremony. He/she will slaughter a cow a sheep or a goat depending on their families cultural background, prepare porridge, samp or rice and vegetables for a complete meal. Then there will be a traditionally brewed beer and instant porridge drinks. Here people will eat and drink, while sharing more of the aspects of past, present and future life... when they are happy they will now start to sing and dance to each other. The purpose of this kind of a feast is all about planting for the future as we usually believe and understand. Most people do this with the believe and twisted understanding that they are doing it for the ancestors hence called " the Ancestors gift". But many get shocked and surprised to find that through a deep research conducted from the elders, this kind of a feast is not done for the ancestors as they usually believe, but is for our own benefit to meet all our needs in life, while remembering and honouring our ancestors for sharing this knowledge to us in a form of a gift.
The challenges
The reason why I set about this program, I was influenced by that passion and eagerness to share and give the love, knowledge and Wisdom I got for a living, with much people around me and the world. The main thing is that I was born in a big family of ten children, and as the last born. I used to share and give anything that I have with most of the people around me at a young age while growing. But suddenly I got shocked and amazed, when I realised that no one was giving back to me, and that hurts me for an extended period of my life. As a young boy in my family, I felt much troubled by this situation in most of my time, and I will go to seek for advices from my father in regard to the way this world respond to my attitude. My father used to say to me, my son; you are gifted. What you have to do is to learn to give and share more with anyone regardless of what are those people bringing back to you.
Addressing the challenges
Along the run, I started to share more with other people of what I've learned as an artist, and automatically lots of opportunities began to flow often rely on my side. Assistance and new jobs started to come from nowhere as a result. Holding to my father's words who once said son, you must know that everything you get in life, it can be a success in your life or career, health, prosperity or love, will be determined by what you put in. Since then, I started to give more of what I have learned. I helped many people around my community to start their own Community Cultural groups and also helped in developing others existing through performing arts as an established artist. All of a sudden after completing my senior certificate at school, I got an invitation from the South African Embassy to go and represent my Country in China at the " China folklore year in singing and dancing in 1999" as a means of a cultural exchange program with other Countries. We then had a tour in China with my group and not us alone but alongside the Mauritians and later the Russians for the whole six weeks tour. On my return from China, I got another invitation to host the Ghanian Cultural group " Odehe Dance Company" also for the same reason "Cultural exchange". Since then, I got more and more gigs as a performing artist around my area in the Free State Province and other provinces around South Africa. Along this journey, I learned much about giving and receiving. I went as broader as setting on of my best theatre stage production called "Mpho ya badimo" in my Sesotho language, meaning " the Ancestors gift". The production made much impact around the society in my area as it is all about making people aware or the principles of giving and receiving through traditional music and dance, poetry and storytelling. Since then, I have been running workshops and classes in my province, Free State and other surrounding areas in giving and sharing about all these principles. Now I believe that these principles taught much in the production "Mpho ya badimo" need to reach more people around the world as is all about the knowledge and Wisdom everyone in this planet born with... for their own survival benefits.
The achievements
We assisted one another in creating more productions similar to this with the focus in teaching the young generations not to forget their own Identity. We created similar projects and programs teaching our youth about where they come from, and where they are going, in following their tradition and Cultural systems and believes. We joined together to build other community-based projects and programs, community-based groups, organisations and infrastructures like theatres for performing arts, Arts centres and also launched many annual events in regards to the matter found on based on our tradition and culture for learning. We are also engaging the community in remembering where they come from through using post-natural building systems in our learning centres, so to show our kids where it all started. The reason is to know and understand their Identity of which they can choose for themselves along the run through practical experience, and as well helping to preserve our culture through good understanding.
Johannesburg, South Africa