Scores of young people from all tribes of South Africa descended upon Thohoyandou in Limpopo on Saturday to attend this year’s launch of the Indoni kings and queens pageant.
The Indoni finalists will participate in the national finals of the Mr and Miss Cultural South Africa in December.
Indoni is a movement that is centered around the promotion of heritage, particularly amongst the youth.
Dressed in their different cultural regalia, the young South Africans paraded on the streets of Thohoyandou. This as part of celebrating Heritage Day celebrations.
Over 15 cultural groups, including Bapedi, VaTsonga VhaVenda, and the Nguni showcased their cultural dances in the hope to secure a spot in the Indoni cultural pageant.
The pageant was launched to promote culture and moral regeneration amongst young people. Some local young people from and around Thohoyandou, say heritage should be respected.
“These days younger people no longer respect their culture, they no longer do culture like the old days. They think culture and tradition are wrong, they have adapted to the western way, culture heritage implies and also help us to develop and awareness about ourselves.”
Video: Heritage Day 2022 | Indoni cultural celebrations:
Some Indoni contestants say the pageant assists them in many ways:
“I graduated Indoni in 2017 and it was the first time I won under the Pondo kingdom. I got the bursary and I studied for my LLB.”
“Being part of Indoni helped me a lot cause I manage to accept myself and my situation at home. So being part of Indoni, I did not only gain knowledge about culture but I also gained a family.”
The founder of Indoni, Dr. Nomcebo Mthembu, says the pageant was launched to advocate for moral regeneration amongst young people.
“We live in a society where young people are lost. They adapt to different cultures so Indoni is saying how can we address the social ills facing us in South Africa teach our young kids who they are and that’s how we solve the social ills by using culture to do that,” says Mthembu.
Video: Indoni heritage celebrations:
