Giyani celebrates Indigenous Games
The event featured several indigenous sports codes that are not popular with the younger generation, such as khokho, dibeke, magava, ncuba, drie stokkies, jukskei, muravarava, khadi, and intonga.
Speaking during the Greater Giyani Municipality’s Indigenous Games held on Friday in Noblehoek village, Mayor Thandi Zitha told spectators that sports were not only good for people’s wellbeing but also helped them deal with stress. “While many people face difficulties in life, whether they have been rejected at an institution due to unpaid debts or the struggles of life, participating in sports is a good way to distract yourself from all of that,” said the mayor, urging parents to involve their children in sports.
“Sports help to keep kids off drugs and other substances by making them concentrate on what is good for them, so please, parents, encourage your kids to participate in sports,” said the mayor. “The human body in general requires some sort of activity to function well; hence, when you play sports, your body is unlikely to experience illness. This is why it’s also crucial for senior citizens to exercise to stay healthy,” Zitha said. First to fourth places will compete at the district level.
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This annual competition begins after heats on municipal level produce winners to advance to district, provincial, and national levels. The mayor stated that since Covid-19 is a thing of the past, this year’s competition may even conclude internationally. Among the participants was a 12-year-old boy from Shimange village, who stole the show by participating in the ncuba games, a sporting code that is traditionally known to be played by mature men.
The boy, Ntivo Chabalala, was pitted against a 60-yearold man known to be a champ among the men who play ncuba in the area. He succeeded in winning one of the three rounds. Even though he lost, he was cheered and supported by the crowd as no one anticipated that he would compete as fiercely given his age. In her remarks, the mayor described the boy’s talent as why programmes uncovering talent among the youth are needed. “This is why we have programmes like this that are designed to help young people discover their talents,” she said.
