Keeping Ndebele Culture Alive in Canada

By Sharon Njobo, Zimbabwe International News, Canada

A group of Zimbabwean young men has taken Canada by storm performing Ndebele folk songs and dances, leaving their audiences crying for more. The Kholisa-Enjoy ensemble, emphasizes that their genre of music.
A group of Zimbabwean young men has taken Canada by storm performing Ndebele folk songs and dances, leaving their audiences crying for more. The Kholisa-Enjoy ensemble, emphasizes that their genre of music is distinctly Zimbabwean Ndebele and not an imitation of South African music. Kholisa founding member, Bhekinkanyiso Khumalo (Top photo) told ZIN that the group's aim is not only to entertain people in Canada , but educate them about the Ndebele culture as well. "The Ndebele culture is dying and we want to promote the culture of those people who broke away with Mzilikazi and went to Zimbabwe ," said Khumalo.
He said the group currently had 12 volunteer members and is looking at recruiting more members so they can be able to take up more performance requests. While prospects for success were very bright in Canada because of the interest to learn more about diverse cultures, Khumalo said the group was not ready to exploit all these opportunities. "We have had invitations to perform at schools, but because our members are volunteers who work during the day, we are not able to perform," he said.
Khumalo appealed to the support of Zimbabweans through attending their performances, saying that would be some form of endorsement for the group. The group's future plans include hosting summer camps for children to teach them more about the Ndebele culture as well as song and dance instruction. Kholisa has a number of performances scheduled during most weekends this coming April, including headlining the Zimbabwe Day Celebrations to be held in Mississauga. Other Zimbabwean artists performing at the April 8th event include Ivhu Marimba Band.
Article courtesy of Zimbabwe International News, Canada