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Intombi zosiko on stage
Bhekumuzi Ncube, Sunday Life Reporter
People roared and cheered every time Intombi Zosiko Ensemble invaded the stage last week at the glamorous TiBaKalanga/We are Kalanga Festival at Silundika Community Centre in Plumtree.
The majority of people had no idea of what spectacular dancing Intombi Zosiko were capable of before the festival. People were to later learn that Intombi Zosiko was a traditional group that was based in South Africa and was invited to perform during the festival.
Everything changed when the dancing queens gave a mouthwatering performance that will forever stay in the memory of people who came to witness the unique festival. After the performance, the dancing queens became the center of attraction as they continued to rock the stage with their dazzling Isitshikitsha and Amajuba traditional dances. The crowd was on their feet when the group started dancing Maskandi and House music, the popular South African and Zimbabwean genres, and that was the moment Intombi Zosiko proved to everyone that they were invited for one purpose; to serenade the festival.
One of the members of the group Nicky Dube said the group was formed to revive traditional dance and music of the Ndebele and Kalanga people that was once performed in weddings, traditional gatherings and festivals.
“The European influence in Africa has very much suppressed local content. The majority of our youths have shifted to Western ways of dancing and singing. The American hip-hop music is making youths view traditional dances such as Isitshikitsha and Amajuba as backward. Intombi Zosiko was formed to raise awareness on the importance of traditional ways of dancing and singing among the Kalanga and the Ndebele people,” she said.
Dube added that TiBaKalanga provided them with the opportunity to market themselves and grow as a group nationally and internationally.
“Our group was formed in 2016. We are still growing and need help from event promoters that will benefit us financially. In South Africa we are still having problems getting concerts but whenever we are called to perform, fans are thrilled with our performance which motivates us to keep moving forward,” she said. Dube urged Zimbabweans to keep following them and also to follow their Facebook page Intombi Zosiko and also buy their CDs.
“Without the support of people we are nothing, we will remain a small group barely known across Zimbabwe, but with their help, we will become a successful group and be able to continue preserving and spreading the traditional culture,” she added.
People who fell in love with the dance group will get a guaranteed opportunity to watch them in next year’s TiBaKalanga festival as they promised to return.
The colourful festival was concluded with exhilarating performances from Tedzani and Malayangwa Traditional Group, Black Umfolosi and Nqamelophondo groups. The project manager, Felix Silundika, said the festival was colourful and everything that took place was beyond imagination.
“The festival was a success, people came in numbers, music performers were on point and most importantly the festival managed to showcase the traditional culture of the Ndebele and Kalanga people,” he said.
