Bots50 – Celebrating 50 Years of Independence in Botswana – By Hayley Blackwell 08 Oct16

This year Botswana is celebrating 50 years of independence, and preparations had been taking place all year leading up to Independence Day itself on 30^th September. Formerly a protectorate of Great Britain, Botswana (or Bechuanaland as it was then known) was granted its independence in 1966, and formed a democratic government to take the country forward. Celebrating its independence is an important event for Batswana. Masego and I were lucky enough to be able to represent Elephants for Africa (EfA) and participate in the celebrations in Khumaga, the village on the opposite side of the river from our research camp where we carry out the majority of our education and human-wildlife coexistence work.

The celebrations in the village began on Monday 26^th September with dance competitions, an athletics competition on the 27^th, followed by the football, volleyball and netball competitions on the 28^th. A few

Members of the East Meets West netball team, with Masego and Hayley in the middle

weeks ago Masego and I joined one of the local netball teams and had been training hard for the Independence tournament. We named ourselves the “East Meets West” netball team, as we live on the eastern side of the Boteti river, inside the national park, and our teammates live on the western side. Our first match was against a team made up of the teachers from Khumaga Primary school, government officials and staff from Desert and Delta Safaris (DDS), who work at a local tourist lodge. It was a close match, with first one team taking the lead, then the other. However, in the final quarter our opponents surged ahead, beating us with a final score of 44-36. The next match of the day was between the teacher/DDS team and another team made up of Khumaga villagers, including the wife and eldest daughter of our EfA Community Officer, Mankind. We gladly took a rest under the shade of a large tree, and watched as the teacher/DDS team triumphed once again, making them the overall champions. With the temperature rising to almost 40°C, we took our places for the final match, a play-off for second place. Both teams fought hard, but when the final whistle blew East Meets West were in the lead 28-22. Second place – not too bad considering the last time I played netball was in my school PE lessons about 7 years ago!

Khumaga villagers enjoying the celebrations in the kgotla

The next day we crossed the river once more and gathered at the Kgotla – the village administrative centre – for more celebrations. There were speeches about the history of Botswana and all its tribes, and lots of singing and dancing as members of each tribe performed traditional songs. In the afternoon we were served a meal of fermented sorghum porridge cooked in hard melon, with cooked sorghum grains and ground beef – foods often served at gatherings in Botswana. Then it was time for the singing competition, as different choirs took to the floor to perform their interpretation of a set song in front of a panel of judges. The

Dancers performing Kwasakwasa dancing

Kgosi (village chief) invited Masego and I to join him on the raised seating area at the front, so we had a great view of the proceedings. Everyone was in high spirits, and even Mankind and the Kgosi couldn’t resist getting up and dancing to the lively music!

In the evening everyone gathered at the community hall for the Miss Independence Beauty Pageant, which Masego and I had been invited to judge along with a village gent. We were shown to our seats at a table on a stage at the front of the hall, and all of the participants paraded in front of us, first as a group and then individually. There were three categories: Elders (36+), Youth (18-35) and Couples, and we had to mark each contestant on a variety of attributes such as their confidence, smile and presentation. Then we had to ask a question to the top 5 in each category, to find out their thoughts and opinions on topics such as how Botswana has changed over the past 50 years, which aspects of their culture have been lost, and what they think can be done to improve the lives of Batswana in the future. It was a fun evening, but everyone took the competition very seriously and it was very difficult to choose our winners. Eventually, we crawled into bed in the early hours of the morning, exhausted after a long day of festivities.

Finally, it was the day we had all been waiting for: Independence Day! The Kgotla was a sea of Blue, Black,

The village Kgosi (Chief)

and White, the colours of the Botswana flag, and smiling faces as the entire village gathered together to celebrate this momentous occasion. As we arrived, President Khama’s official speech was being read out by a representative. But there was no time for us to relax, Masego and I had volunteered to be part of the catering committee, so soon we were hard at work preparing the food for the big feast. And when you have

The catering committee working their way through piles of butternuts

a whole village to feed there is a lot of food to prepare! We were tasked with peeling a mountain of butternut squashes, then crushing packets and packets of biscuits to make the base of the cheesecake/trifle type dessert. I also had to go around collecting the huge bowls and buckets of jelly which had been distributed amongst the fridges of various people in the village.

In the afternoon we took a break from cooking to watch the DDS staff from Leroo Le Tau lodge performing a few songs, and the prize-giving ceremony, where all the winners and runners-up from the competitions over the previous few days were presented with their prizes. I was nominated by our netball team to go up on stage to accept our prize for second place in the netball tournament, along with our captain, Gabo. Then it was the moment we’d all been waiting for: the food!

Choir performing in the singing competition

Rice, samp, beef, goat meat, chicken, crushed butternuts, chackalacka, coleslaw and soup were dished out to the masses, washed down with a cup of specially prepared ginger drink, and followed by the dessert we had helped to prepare. Everyone went home tired but happy, with very full stomachs.

When I applied to become an elephant researcher in Botswana, I never in my wildest dreams expected it would involve judging beauty pageants, or cooking for an entire village. But everyone in Khumaga played a different role in the celebrations, and I think it is important that the EfA team support and integrate with our local community. As an outsider, I feel so privileged that the people of Khumaga have accepted me and allowed me to participate in their celebrations of this very important and historic event. I had an amazing few days getting to know many new people in the village, and experiencing the culture and traditions of Botswana. But most of all I enjoyed seeing so many smiling, friendly faces and people making me feel welcome and at home. Here’s to the next 50 years Botswana!

Hayley with just some of the cooking pots used to prepare the Independence Day feast