Chipadze to Host Jikinya Dance Festival Finals

The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe has pleaded with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to take the school’s traditional dance competitions seriously in order to preserve culture and tradition.

Jonathan Kudangiranwa the council’s Mashonaland Central manager actually said the government must have a  set aside budget to promote culture and tradition in schools if we are to preserve our culture for future generations.

He said traditional dance competitions are no longer being taken seriously in schools, especially in elite and group A schools mainly on the basis of religions and other beliefs.

“You will find out that as a council we at times even assisted some of the schools with resource persons to train their pupils but as soon as we left they also stopped training.

“There is a need for the ministry to stamp authority otherwise some of the schools will soon not partake in the competitions,” he said.

The annual primary school’s national traditional dance competitions popularly known as the Jikinya Dance Competitions are held every year, third term.

Schools across the country have already started training ahead of zonal, district and provincial competitions in the next two weeks.

The finals will be held at Chipadze High School in Bindura on October 26 supported by Chibuku breweries and the National Arts Council.

The annual festival, won by Lwendulu Primary School of Hwange in Matabeleland North

Province in 2022, will this year showcase the Mhande Dance as the set piece for the competition,” according to Rodney Ruwende NACZ publicist.

 Mhande is an indigenous Zimbabwean song-dance normally performed by the Karanga people, who reside mostly in the Midlands and Masvingo provinces.

The dance is performed as part of the Mutoro and Kurova ceremonies.

Its performance goes beyond a typical dance performed to a song, as it carries historical significance and a deeper meaning.

 The performance of Mhande as a set piece for the Jikinya Dance Festival is a crucial element in safeguarding the cultural practices of indigenous Zimbabweans, as the dance is a vital aspect of the cultural heritage of the Karanga people, serving as an artistic expression of the values and beliefs of the different communities where it is practised.

 Mhande is a key link between the living and the ancestral spirits, performed particularly in ceremonies such as Kurovaguva and the Mutoro, representing the settlement of ancestral spirits and rain-making rituals, respectively.

 Amabhiza was the set piece for the 2022 Jikinya Dance Festival, and schools from all the country’s provinces performed the dance, which originates and is performed in Matabeleland South Province.