Jutshume Homestead Hosts the TGSCCC Village Competion

The weekend of 9th & 10th November had a lasting impact on the community Jutsume, Ward 10 in Bulilima District. Dozens of local villagers converged at the homestead of Mr and Mrs Enock Moyo to take part in the weekend’s menu of activities facilitated by the TG Silundika Cultural Community Centre, TGSCCC staff. The activities included a beauty pageant competition followed by a skills training workshop on Sunday November 10th.

Coordinators from three local villages, Jutshume, Nsubula & Bambadzi and affiliated to the TGSCCC had over a period of over 3 months recruited, trained and prepared the models to participate in the Miss TiBaKalanga beauty pageant competition primaries. When the day of the competition finally arrived, it was not a disappointment. A crew of 11 people consisting of judges, village coordinators and workshop facilitators led by Chairman Mfundo Tsambani and project manager Felix Silundika of the TG Silundika Cultural Community Centre, the TGSCCC, made the 40km journey to Jutshume on Saturday morning from Gala Village. Arriving a little after 9:00 am in the morning, it was the start of what would be one of the most memorable weekends in the village of Jutshume. Many of the local visitors started trickling in at around the same time making their way from the neighboring communities in the sparsely populated area of western Zimbabwe relatively close to the border with Botswana.

The modeling commenced soon after the visitors were treated to an assortment of Kalanga traditional dishes prepared for the occasion. A total of 16 models from the three villages took part in the competition which was adjudicated on 5 categories namely, introduction round, sportswear, talent category, African traditional wear and evening wear. Traditionally, the introduction round is where the models are expected to introduce themselves in any of the three commonly spoken languages (IsiNdebele, Kalanga and English) but are awarded an extra point if they speak in their native Kalanga. The Kalanga language is known to be endangered with most youths unable to speak it fluently yet historically it was the most dominant language in the area. The TGSCCC has made the its preservation and the promotion of the Kalanga cultural heritage a centerpiece of its programs. This is the centre’s small but important way of contributing towards the revival of the culture.

Miss Wandile Sibanda won the Miss Jutshume title largely due to her performance in the talent category

The models (who are between the ages of 16 and 25) took turns entertaining the crowd with the talent category being by far the most contentious. In this category, the contestants have total control of the talent they wish to display. Originality, creativity, confidence and execution are among what they are eventually judged on and the models didn’t disappoint. Most would agree that the models had different styles but creativity was one element that there was never in short supply.  With the cultural centre chairman Mr Mfundo Tsambani acting as the MC, the show went on all day until dusk at which point the adjudicators, Mrs Virginia Ndlovu, Mrs Irene Sibalo and Mrs Angeline Ncube sought a speedy conclusion of the process before it became too dark for them to complete their duty.

It was not long after that that the results were announced wherein the prize giving ceremony soon followed. This was truly the most emotional part of the day. Some parents in the audience couldn’t hold back their tears especially in view of the closely contested categories.  While some competitors were obviously disappointed, the adjudicators were systematic in their feedback by including recommendations for how performance could be improved in the future. 

Those crowned Queen and the 1st Princess of each village will advance to the finals in April 2025 where they will compete for the now coveted Miss TiBaKalanga 2025 title. Dozens of other finalists will be representing their villages and schools in the finals. The TGSCCC will host primaries for the cluster villages that surround it on December 21st as part of the road to the Miss TiBaKalanga finals. Normally, the reigning queen according to the rules of the pageant competition the reigning queen is the one to crown the next queen.

This will likely not be the case in April 2025 as the current Queen of TiBaKalanga 2024, Miss Sikhanyisile Ndlovu is currently overseas pursuing her tertiary level studies. Arrangements will be made for her to do a recorded speech for the event.

Mrs A Ncube demonstrating the basket weaving skills

Day 2

at Jutshume was a stark contrast to the first. The mood was different, serious, business like and dedicated to skills training. Some of the models along with a number of local villagers returned to the Moyo homestead to learn skills in basket making, bead making and sewing facilitated by Mrs A Ncube, Mrs E Sebele and Mr Nkosi Nkomo respectively. It was strictly a classroom type of situation with the practical training preceded by a theory part where the attendees where trained to identify and learn more about the tools and materials associated with their training. Having started at around 8:00 am, the training was concluded at around lunch time to give the facilitators and the rest of the TGSCCC crew time to make their way back to Gala. 

Soon after lunch was served the host Mr Enock Moyo took to the microphone to give a vote of thanks not only to the TGSCCC staff but also to the Ward 10 community for their immense contribution to the success of the weekend’s activities. In turn, the TGSCCC project manager pledged to make a follow up visit to conduct a Part 2 of the skills training program and thanked the Moyo family and the community for the enjoyable and productive weekend it was. The TGSCCC is committed to working with the Ward 10 community by establishing a permanent partnership and working on many projects in a mutually beneficial arrangement. To that end, we are pleased to announce that one of the most visible luminaries of the Ward 10 community Mr Wajapi Bango will work with us in enhancing the quality of the annual TiBaKalanga Kalanga Cultural Festival. The festival is held every year in April with the beauty pageant competition being just one of the many activities held.