Kalahari Arts and Heritage Festival comes to an end

Saturday marked the last day of the Kalahari Arts and Heritage Festival at Rietfontein close to the Namibian border in the Northern Cape.

The two-day festival aims to celebrate the Khoi and San culture.

Different groups from Platfontein in Kimberley, the Kalahari, Namibia and Botswana came together to showcase their knowledge and cultural dances.

Kalahari Arts and Heritage Festival under way at Rietfontein:

The different groups showcased their different dancing styles as the manager of the festival, Davison Mudzingwa explains.

“This festival is very clear and brief, we want to celebrate the heritage of the Khoi and San but also to use this festival as a platform to preserve the culture, the identity and the heritage of the marginalised groups that is the Khoi and the San.

This comes in the wake of the marginalisation that we know and the good history that we know being the Khoi and San. We know they have always been victims and this went beyond the language side as we know the destruction of the language, but also the destruction of their culture and identity.”

Some performances at the Kalahari Arts and Heritage Festival, a unique celebration of Khoi and San culture. Now in its 4th year, it brings together diverse Khoi and San communities across Southern Africa to honour their shared heritage, language and identity. #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/lkWRWPvO4z

— Ulrich Hendriks (@UlrichHendriks) January 25, 2025