Online Reporter
Sunday Mail Reporter
A TOTEM can open a conversation, reveal a connection and turn a stranger into a relative.
This October, that sense of belonging takes centre stage at the Mutupo Festival, bringing Zimbabweans together to celebrate their roots through music, storytelling and cultural expression.
Scheduled for October 3 at Sherwood Golf Club in Mabelreign, Harare, the festival will feature Gift Amuli, Kurai Makore, Baba Harare and Mbeu, with musician Dereck Mpofu hosting.
Cynthia Mare, Pah Chihera, Obert Chari, Tryson Chimbetu, Josh Meck and Progress Chipfumo are also among the advertised performers.
The programme extends to traditional performance and oral storytelling, with Kuwadzana KweVaripasi Mbira Group, Mbare Chimurenga Choir, Ganya Up Dance Ensemble and storyteller Sekuru Gora among the expected participants. Together, these artistes offer different ways of engaging with stories, sounds and customs passed between generations.
For Nyaradzo Group, which is supporting the festival, the partnership connects cultural preservation with its values of Ubuntu, care, dignity and community.
“Our mitupo are more than names. They carry the voices of our ancestors, the dignity of our families and the stories that tell us who we are,” said Nyaradzo Group head of strategic solutions and corporate affairs Mr Tendayi Gwatiringa.
The festival also brings into focus the role businesses can play in sustaining Zimbabwe’s cultural life.
Artistes, storytellers and cultural custodians need spaces to share their work, while younger generations need opportunities to encounter and understand their heritage.
“Culture must be nurtured before it becomes a memory. It needs platforms, support and institutions willing to invest in it,” Mr Gwatiringa said.
The Group described its involvement as an investment in a platform where children can learn about their roots and Zimbabweans can reconnect with their identity.
That invitation extends to the audience.
Patrons are encouraged to wear traditional attire and “dress your totem”, making cultural expression part of the gathering both on and off the stage. At its heart is a simple proposition: heritage stays alive when people gather to practise it, share it and give the next generation a place in the story.
