“E běchělwa, e santse e běchělwa kgomo. E ne e re basimane ba le mo morakeng, bannabagolo ba le mo morakeng, basimane ba tshotse kgang, ba ipoka ba ntse ba re: monna kgomo yaaka e ka sia ya gago! Ke na le kgomo e nngwe jaana e le phatswa gote Scotch jaana. Kgomo eo e ne e taboga lobelo mo nne ke ipotsa gore a ke phologolo kgotsa jang!
… Monna tsatsi leo a bo re běchěla golo gate Dipitsana ko masimo ko Dithataneng” – Rre Mogotsi of Gasita
(We placed bets on it, when we could still place bets on cattle. It was at the cattle post when boys and old men were in heated debates: “my ox is faster than yours, my ox is faster than yours”. I had a black and white ox that was just too fast I wondered whether it was an animal or something else!
That day we had bet for the oxen race at Dipitsana lands of Dithataneng.)
The cultural significance is that traditionally Batswana scraped a living rearing cattle and growing crops. Following Matjila (2009), cattle, in fiction and in real life, represents wealth and wellbeing for Batswana.
In Bechuanaland, as Botswana was called before independence in 1966, cattle were also commonly used as a reliable mode of transport. Not only that but also as a form of entertainment during ox racing competitions. Mr Mogotsi of Gasita, a cheerfull slender elderly man, in a high-pitched voice, states that he used to take part in the then well-attended popular cattle racing games. For a smooth ride, the jockey had to wear trousers made of hide instead of cloth owing to the excess sweat from cattle skin. The 92 year-old asserted that trousers made of cloth absorbed most of the oily sweat and that made the ride uncomfortable.
Under a shade of tree, he also added that the cattle racing champion was symbolically given a sorghum-head, amid the cheering crowd, by a chosen lady standing at the finish line. The sorghum-head waving winner was fittingly rewarded with “maukana a madila”, or sacks of home made fermented milk, similar to plain yorghut.
#Botswanacattle
#iLoveBotswana
#iAmMotswana
#Oxracing
#Mabele
#Madila
Blessing Kgosi e tsile Kgasa 