Tsonga (Shangaan) women at a Tsonga Festival
THIS year’s edition, which was supposed to be the seventh edition of MaChangana Festival and was scheduled to take place this Saturday, has been cancelled due to insufficient funding. The cultural tourism festival is held every September in Mahenye communal lands of Chipinge south.
MaChangana Festival brings together Tsonga/Changana (also known as Shangaan) communities surrounding Zimbabwe’s second largest national wildlife ornament, Gonarezhou National Park. Gonarezhou is part of a peace parks project named Great Limpopo Trans-Frontier Park which amalgamates it with Kruger National Park of South Africa and Limpopo National Park of Mozambique.
According to one of the organisers, Mr Liberty Mahenye Chauke, who is also the chairperson of Mahenye Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE), the festival shall resume in the following year.
Said Mr Chauke, “We have faced a funding challenge this year. We sincerely apologise to the tourism world for the inconveniences caused. A number of tourists had booked to experience our culture. We had also invited Mavhue Marhula Dance Group and Chief Mavhue from Mozambique as our regional delegates.”
MaChangana Festival falls under the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority calendar in the Lowveld. Established in 2010, the first two MaChangana galas were held in Chief Sengwe’s area in Chiredzi South and in Chief Tshovani’s area in Chiredzi North in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The third edition took place in Chief Mahenye’s area in Chipinge South 2012.
Due to general elections that were taking place that year, the 2013 commemoration was deferred to the following year. The 2014 took place in Chief Gudo’s area in Chiredzi North. From 2015, the festival is now held in Chief Mahenye’s area in Chipinge South.
MaChangana Festival showcases most of Tsonga culture that include a Tsonga cultural village, traditional food, traditional dressing, traditional dances and traditional hunting ceremonies. The traditional fishing ceremony known as Saila is the key feature of the festival.
On the other hand, Ndau Festival of the Arts (NDAFA) will take place this Saturday at Paiyepo Arts Centre in Bangira Village of Chikore communal lands in Chipinge East. NDAFA shall be graced by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development, Preservation and Promotion of Culture and Heritage, Dr Thokozile Chitepo.