Tembisans celebrate Heritage Day
Thousands of Tembisans wearing traditional attire converged on the Moses Molelekwa Art Centre to celebrate Heritage Day on Wednesday last week.
The event was organised by the internationally renown jazz maestro Jerry “Monk” Molelekwa, and the department of arts and culture in Ekurhuleni.
According to the soft-spoken Molelekwa, the function was specifically aimed at the aged who are regarded as the custodians of indigenous knowledge in the country.
“I have been celebrating Heritage Day with the aged for some years now. It is vital that as we celebrate such an important day, we engage them so that they share their knowledge with us. We also have traditional dancers from nearly all the cultural groups in Tembisa,” he said.
He added that he hopes that in the future, the business community and the government will help in funding the event.
“As you can see, we have managed to bring together different cultures for such an important day, but without a sponsor, it is difficult to encourage them to come back again next year. We really hope the government will be on board next year,” he said.
This year, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality provided catering for the aged, while Molelekwa had to dig deep into his pockets to feed the invited groups and the youth who graced the event.
The programme director on the day, Lucky “Professor” Kgafela, said celebrating Heritage Day also helps the youth know who they are and where they come from.
“Some of our youth are following foreign cultures and know very little about their own culture. It is important for the aged to show them who they are so that they can be proud of their own culture,” he said.
