Programme Directors
The First Lady of RSA: Mama Makhumalo Zuma
MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs in the EC: Hon. Mlibo
Qoboshiyane
EThekwini Deputy Mayor: Cllr N Shabalala
South African Traditional Music Awards (SATMA) Awards Foundation President: Hon Judge Tshabalala
Distinguished guests
Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
I stand here tonight to address you on behalf of the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Zweli Mkhize, who could not attend as he is currently abroad on government business.
It is an honour to be part of this ceremony, which seeks to give traditional music its rightful status and role in South African arts and culture, which in turn enhances the preservation of the country’s rich cultural heritage.
As has been said before, this fact can never be overstated: A nation without pride in its culture and heritage is no nation at all, and is bound to disintegrate into oblivion and be reduced to be the debris of history.
History is awash with examples of great civilizations which were overcome by other nations greater then themselves who, with the intention of destroying them, denigrated their histories, cultures and heritage thus ensuring their complete conquest.
South Africa unfortunately has that kind of history. For centuries the cultures, religious practices and heritage of the indigenous peoples was distorted or denigrated – deplored as ‘superstition’ – in order to achieve their complete subjugation.
Fortunately, because of our resilience we were able to adopt the foreign religions and cultures and absorb them into our mainstream way of life while at the same time observing our rich cultural heritage.
This of course has historically been despised as sacrilege by those who sought to see us stripped completely of our history, and thus our pride, so as to keep us in perpetual subjugation.
It is important to note that the effort at downgrading and eradication of our cultural heritage was intended not to include us in an equal society by the colonialists and imperialist. The intention was to strip us of our cherished beliefs in order to be fed a diet of half-baked racial superiority/inferiority complexes that would render us perpetual subjugation.
Yet to the credit of the inspired leadership instilled by leaders such as the great African Kings Shaka ka Senzangakhona, Sekhukhune, Hintsa, Moshoeshoe among others, our traditional beliefs and value systems withstood the test of time and survive to this day.
Yes we did embrace religions such as Christianity and Islam, and while some amongst us did in fact relinquish their indigenous cultural and religious beliefs, others combined the two to form a unique African religious dynamic. Yet other Africans utterly rejected the encroachment and influence of alien religious practices.
Therefore what we see today in most, if not the whole of Africa, is an uneasy mix of African indigenous traditional and religious belief systems either combined or somehow walking hand-in-hand with Western and other religious and cultural practices.
This is itself cannot be seen as a totally negative. The reality of the modern times that we live in dictates that as cultures and nations from diverse backgrounds get together and cohabit in close proximity, there is bound to be a convergence of thought and therefore a certain amount of dilution of values.
This in practical terms means that as each culture intermingles with foreign cultures it will consciously or unconsciously be influenced by the practices and value systems of those around it. This is a natural progression if we admit that the world and life itself are dynamic and not static entities.
Yet this cultural integration does not necessarily mean that the different cultures should discard what is their own. Sure enough, where divergent cultures intermingle on a regular or permanent basis, this might be inevitable, yet we cannot deny that there still exist far-flung and remote areas where “purity” of cultural values is still held in high regard.
This fact, and considering the truism that a nation without pride in its culture, history and heritage is no nation at all and is destined to annihilation, brings us to the importance of measures such as the SATMA Awards.
The importance of the SATMA Awards therefore, lies in their recognition of the importance of the core values of nationhood and the imperative of their preservation if we are to see the survival and indeed the thriving of our cultural heritage.
We therefore commend the founders and all proponents and various stakeholders who have contributed and continue to contribute to the observation and success of this annual event. We applaud you for your contribution to nation building and implore you to continue with your selfless and honourable contribution to this effort.
It is also to the credit of the founders and custodians of the SATMA Awards that the ceremony has grown to recognise all South African cultures inclusively, thereby rejecting tribalism, sectarianism and other divisive social superficialities.
The slogan My Culture, Your Culture, One Nation is an inclusive one which promotes the core values and beliefs as set our in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Indeed South Africa belongs to all who live in it, irrespective of race, colour, cultural origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion or any other superficial human differentiation.
As we have said before, we as government cannot single-handedly uplift our destitute communities. Only through a commitment from individuals and groups that exist within our diverse society will the goal of stable and prosperous nationhood be realised.
We further recognise the SATMA Awards as reinforcing the national theme of ‘Unity in Diversity’, as it highlights and celebrates the diverse cultures and heritages of all South African citizens. Working together we can forge a common identity and heritage as South Africans. Together we can do more.
I thank you.
