Chronicle Editor
Angela Sibanda, Showbiz Reporter
The Kalanga Language and Cultural Development Association (KLCDA) is hoping to revive the Luswingo Kalanga Cultural Festival after losing a lot of talent due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its induced lockdowns.
The annual event that was last held in 2019 aims at preserving and celebrating the Kalanga culture where exhibitors converge at Luswingo Heritage Site in Tokwana Village, which is situated 36kms north of Plumtree town.
During the festival which usually runs for a day, people gather at the ruins to share historical stories, and showcase traditional artefacts and talent in dance and song among other things.
KLCDA chairperson, Sotsha Moyo said they are hoping to revive the event as a lot of talent was lost as many creatives, either left the country or shifted their focus to income-generating projects to survive the pandemic.
“Most people shifted their attention from the cultural activities to focus on means of economic survival. We lost a lot of young people who found their way out of the country in search of better life opportunities. However, we’re working towards finding ways to resuscitate the event,” Moyo said.
He said the festival survives on community sponsorship and due to the pandemic, local sponsors could not make enough to spare for the festival.
“The festival is community sponsored hence the number of days that it lasts is determined by the sponsorship from the local communities. During the lockdowns, people could only manage to make enough for their families and the drought from the previous farming season also worsened the situation.
“We are, however, doing our best as an association to make sure that we resuscitate the festival as is it is, at this moment, the only community project that promotes our culture,” said Moyo.
Luswingo is a name for stone walls, it means the same as Masvingo. According to local people, the place has a historical background of having been the home of a royal family hence why it is valued in the Kalanga history.
History also reveals that the place was one of the key settlements of BaKalanga in Bulilima as it is between Dombodema and Tokwana areas which are the areas of origin for most BaKalanga in Bulilima who later dispersed to settle in various parts of Bulilima and beyond.
Though much smaller in size, the stone-walled settlement exhibits the combination of both structural and civil engineering skills of early civilisation. The heritage site was established to serve as a fortress for the purposes of security.
Apart from the festival, the KLCDA produces educational books as a way of preserving the Kalanga language.
“Our biggest project at the moment is the Kalanga book project where we’re focusing on reviving the teaching of the language in schools. Kalanga is one of the languages that are now being taught in schools and we’re working on getting as many books by our local authors to be printed and distributed in schools to conserve our language,” said Moyo.
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