On Saturday morning, 11 choirs from the Southern Region of Botswana gathered at the Ramotswa Showgrounds to compete for this year's traditional choirs (dikhwaere) competition as part of the National Art Festival activities. Dintorokong Choir represented Kweneng District very well as they were crowned this year's dikhwaere champions after scoring 88%. The choir was no stranger to scooping the first position during the dikhwaere competition as they previously won the same competition back in 2017.
It must have won the judges’ hearts by composing a song that resonated well with the theme as per the requirement from the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture. Their attire and dance formation were also splendid. This year's National Arts Festival was themed, "Tlhabololo ya itsholelo ka botaki le bodiragatsi", meaning the contribution of the arts industry in boosting the country's economy.
During the competition, many choirs sang about the beauty of the Setswana culture and how traditional songs and arts could help in boosting the country's economy. Some pointed out that the country relied on natural resources to sustain itself while some sang about how exporting meat by the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) to European countries played a role in boosting the country's economy. Others sang of how diamond mining also contributed towards boosting the country's economy.
They also highlighted that it was through local diamonds that we see beautiful diamond jewellery such as rings.