The Sunday News
Rumbidzai Mhlanga, Sunday Life Reporter
THE Pupu Tshangane Walking Event was held at EMdwadweni Sipopoma site inside the Tshangane River last week.
The event was started in 2017 to promote culture and heritage and is co-ordinated by Amakhosi Cultural Tours in partnership with The Walk Foundation International. This year it maintained the theme “Samwela uTshangane, saguqa ngamadolo”.
Cont Mhlanga, an arts doyen and one of the organisers of Amakhosi Cultural Tours said the event was a success.
“The Carnival Walk has been happening since 2017 and it has become an annual Carnival that occurs in June and it starts at the Pupu Allan Wilson Memorial to the River Dance Carnival. The purpose of the Carnival Walk is to promote Community-based tourism in rural Lupane District while preserving the history of the Pupu Tshangane battlefield which is southern Africa’s largest colonial resistance battlefield,” he said.
Mhlanga shared with Sunday Life future plans of the Carnival Walk.
“All the carnival years are marked by Queens, so far we have three Queens and this year’s Carnival Queen Contest was won by Ayanda Cala of Malunku Ward, while the best Dance group accolade went to Amavevane of St Pauls Ward. Amavevane came first again last year with their Indlamu Yamantombazane dance.
“This year we added two new activities, The Carnival Walk and the Carnival Eve Camp and Bonfire Event. We had about four people from South Africa, six from Matabeleland South, 17 from Bulawayo camped at the Carnival Eve Camp and had great fun around the fire joining local villagers who camp at the Carnival Park every year.
“Plans for next year are to introduce a Children’s Folk Story Telling Contest at the Carnival Eve Camp and Traditional Research Conversations around the fire and the event will be on 20 June. The Carnival is still on the formative stage as this year we started having visitors from outside Zimbabwe coming specifically for the carnival. However, locals are already harvesting revenues from people who come to the Carnival from outside Malunku Ward and those that run accommodation facilities at Lupane Town. It is in the right track and is set to grow,” said Mhlanga.
He said the programme was funded by villagers, Amakhosi Cultural Tours and individual contributions from people from the Matabeleland region based in various parts of the world.
“We just wish it had a budget from Government like the Harare International Carnival especially from revenues collected as entry fees from Victoria Falls visitors to the Rain Forest. Just a percentage,” he said.
