art and music

                                 Botswana Cultural Night (Tokyo 2010)

                                

Botswana Art Centre

The art in Botswana has changed from century to century in Botswana. In the past it has fallen into two categories: The Kung people, known as the San or Bushmen, and Nguni tribe from the Batswana. Kung art is art that includes decoration pieces they used for their desert existence. These items include, clay water filtration devices, animal skins,arrows,bows and pots, and beads.  Kung art is also famous for the cave art that depicts animal hunts, ceremonies, and dances that lasted for centuries.[1]

                                                                                           San Thomas River Rock Art Museum

The Nguni is art that is made out of stone and wood, and sculptures of ceramics of clay, named township art art made of disca instruments, knob berries, walking sticks and many other forms of art. Another art form particular in the Botswana is the stitching together of many different coloured hides and furs.  These pieces had many uses not just as an art form. Many tribe members used these blankets to keep warm in the cold desert months. These proved very useful in the cold times of the Kalahari region in winter cold months. It is said there is a great deal of overlapping between these 2 peoples. Many times these people engaged in trade between each others tribes, thus changing the culture of these peoples.[2] 

 Tjdema.bloggspot.com

During the Apartheid many Africans artists that were in exile gathered together to produce the Medu Art ensemble to produce political artwork in defiance to Apartheid.  Botswana music is mostly vocal and performed with out instruments at times.  They make heavy use of string, and the Setinkane(a type of piano). The hands slapping against goat or different animal skins are used as instruments as well as anything to create music and rhythm. For the last 30 the guitar has been used as an instrument of choice s it offers various note structure the other ones do not have.[3]

   [1] “Botswana art” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana_art , (accessed on January 28, 2016)

    [2]  ibid

    [3]  “Botswana music” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana (accessed Jan, 28,2016)

                              Botswana

                                                                                              Botswanaflag.facts.co.za

         Republic of Botswana , a former British protectorate of Bechuanaland, became independence in September 30, 1966. Botswana is a flat dry, with 70 percent of it’s country part of the Kalahari Desert. Botswana borders South Afrika to the South, Namibia to the North and West, and Zimbabwe to the Northeast. 

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Botswana is a midsized African nation with just over 2 million people, according to the 2011 country census. Over 10 percent currently live in the countries capital city of Gaborone(24.6581.S -25.9122.E) with a population of over 220 thousand people. Botswana’s second largest city boasts a population of over 100 thousand people. Botswana has transformed itself from being the poorest countries in the world from the 1960’s to one of the worlds fastest growing nation in terms of population and wealth. Aper capita of over 18 thousand, up from 70 dollars in the 60’s to the 70’s. Since the 2010 it has grown significantly.  Botsawana is the 4^th largest nation in all of the African continent.

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                                                                                                                 Quin Norton

Due to drought and lack of rain , 95 percent of the nations farmers and grazers, have to depend on borewell drilling for water. The other small 5 percent rely on the few rains during the year. Over 71 percent of the land is used for grazing, which is contributing to desertification and soil erosion. Over 50 percent of the nation own cattle.  

www.Botswana.co.za

 The people in the city have to rely on dams for water thus changing the nations river system. Botswana’s Okavango Delta is one of the worlds largest inland Delta  and wetland in the world and now faces extinction due to land over use along with climate change. The nations Department of Forestry and Range Restoration has teamed up with the US Government agencies to implement a project to reintroduce indigenous plants and animals.  

[1] The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2014. 

[2] Ivythemes,  "Bechuanaland Was The Former Name of Botswana", http://www.generalknowledgefacts.com/2013/09/bechuanaland-was-former-name-of-botswana.html, 2016

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana#cite_note-9