No culture means no direction

“A nation that does not respect its culture is doomed and does not have any direction," said Vhavenda King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana.

In an exclusive interview with Limpopo Mirror regarding the importance of Heritage Month, he said that the Vhavenda nation must know its culture and respect heritage sites. “Heritage Month has been expanded to include the diverse cultural heritage of our country,” he said.

“Our area has a rich culture and our dream is to promote and ensure cultural tourism and ecotourism, so as to facilitate social justice and economic upliftment,” he said.

King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana said it was important to preserve African culture and traditional values in order to build a strong and disciplined nation. Mphephu said Africans must not undermine themselves because African practices were morally acceptable and educational.

“Being educated does not mean that we must disregard our culture. We must learn to go out and preach our cultural gospel with happiness and pride. Our indigenous food is very healthy because it is less processed. The fact that the food is easily accessible and cheap, makes one boast of an African habitat that is rich in useful vegetation and adequate food supply. Most of the health problems that we face today are because of the food that we eat. It is important to teach our kids to prepare indigenous food to equip them with the knowledge they will use when we depart from this world,” said Mphephu.

 “We must be proud of who we are instead of being copycats of other peoples’ cultures. We must learn to love and appreciate our history, tradition and morality because those are the basis from which a strong nation develops. Our indigenous languages should also be preserved for the benefit of the young generation and the community at large,” said Mphephu.

Date:19 September 2014

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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