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This is an archive of previous news clips
September 2008
First of all, it was with deep
sadness that we heard of the passing of Professor Mapopa
Mtonga in May this year. The Prof, or "Mapops" as some
fondly called him was a bottomless well of knowledge, always
willing to share. He had been on Seka’s board since its
inception in 2001 and contributed greatly to our success.
Anyone who had the pleasure of
soaking up his stories and insights for hours on end will
understand that Malian proverb - when an elder dies, a library
is destroyed. He was an academic as well as an oral historian in
the old tradition and he was an invaluable member of Seka.
“Prof Mtonga was born in 1945
at Chingala Village within the Mwase Royal family of Chief Mwase
in Lundazi. He began his studies at the University of Zambia in
1968 and after graduation went to Ghana for his MA studies
before embarking on his Phd studies in the Republic of Ireland.
Prof Mtonga returned to Zambia to teach at the University of
Zambia (UNZA) and later became a professor in his specialist
field.At the time of his death, the late professor had left UNZA
and joined the Zambian Open University as Dean of the new School
of Media, Performing and Fine Arts. Prof Mtonga was well known
for having had vast knowledge on the history of Zambia’s
chiefdoms and Africa as a whole. He wrote and published his
works, which were extensively complemented by film.” Kelvin
Kachingwe and Noel Sichalwe
Endani bwino, Prof. We shall miss
you here.
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At
present Seka is working on a project under the Zambia Wildlife
Authority on Human Wildlife Conflict and conservation in
South Luangwa. They finish their last week of action
research and awareness performances at the end of the month.
This process has been extremely effective and powerful. The
actors have been living in the selected villages for weeks on
end, finding out what the issues are on the ground and creating
plays that channel Zawa’s point of view to the community, the
community’s point of view to Zawa and everything in between.
Human Wildlife conflict is a notoriously political and hot issue
to tackle and this methodology is the perfect way to deal it; to
create dialogue and discuss solutions.
It has, so far, been a huge
success. Once the action research and awareness performances are
over we shall be creating a ‘message dissemination play’ as well
as a radio drama series. We’ll keep you updated and put up
pictures soon.
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This
month the actors will also make a short trip to the Lower
Zambezi to perform their HIV/AIDS play for
Conservation Lower Zambezi
, which is very exciting.
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The
LION KING! In February this year, Zambian Airways made it
possible for six actors from Seka to travel to Johannesburg to
see a performance of The Lion King – the awards winning Disney
musical that was showing at a major theatre there. We, as Seka,
feel it is very important for actors and artists to be exposed
to the work of other theatre makers. We rely on simple clever
tricks to create images and it was a fantastic opportunity to
see another production with similar style to ours – although on
a much grander scale. We watched the production and performed at
some schools in Johannesburg. The actors came back feeling fresh
and inspired. Thank you to Zambian Airways for sponsoring the
tickets.
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And
of course, as you can see on our home page the book
Ceremony! Celebrating Zambia’s
Cultural Heritage is now available. The book
contains a wealth of information about traditional ceremonies on
the Zambia calendar. The photographs are spectacular, evoking
the dignity and beauty of events such as the Ku-omboka, the
Likumbi lya Mize or the Gule Wamkulu masquerades. It also
captures some of the less well-known ceremonies, from far-flung
parts of the country. Each section depicts a different province
and some of the cultural highlights of the area.
Seka was commissioned by Celtel Zambia, to produce this book and
it is truly a celebration of what it means to be Zambian, but
even if you are not familiar with this beautiful country, you
will enjoy what the book has to offer. People from neighbouring
countries may find echoes and similarities between their own
traditional practices and those depicted here. People wishing to
do business in Zambia will find it valuable. And those with a
love of ritual, ancient wisdom and storytelling, traditional
African beer or great photography must own this book!
The book was launched in Lusaka in January, and soon an event
will take place in Johannesburg as well.
For more information contact
sekapublishing@gmail.com
Watch this space.
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