By Ontiretse Motingwa

Fourth-year Setswana students on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus celebrated Heritage Day by embracing the Setswana language as future Setswana educators.

The celebration aimed to remind students of their heritage, to encourage them to learn more about other cultures and to recognise the importance of languages.

“We celebrate our heritage by embracing our different cultural beliefs and using our different languages,” said Ellen Nkwe, Setswana lecturer.

The celebration entailed poetry, singing with drums, dancing, and a variety of cultural dishes. Students wore their respective traditional attire, and Setswana student Alpheus Mongale shared a presentation on Setswana cultural history.

“The most common practices of the Batswana cultures are seen in how they conduct funerals, arrange weddings and bring up children. There are also initiation schools where young boys and girls are taught about manhood and womanhood, and although some accept these traditions with mixed feelings, it is still practiced in various Batswana communities,” said Alpheus.

“My hope for the future is that Setswana will be used as a medium of instruction from the foundation phase up to tertiary level, meaning that all teaching and learning activities and research projects will be created and carried out proficiently in Setswana,” Ellen added.

Meet the fourth-year Setswana class of 2022.

Ellen Nkwe is a Setswana lecturer on the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus.