By Tatenda Gapa

ZIMBABWE is a culturally rich country with diverse cultures that have enchanted the world.
The Shona sculpture popularised by artists like Brighton Sango, Tapfumaneyi Gutsa and Dominic Benhura as well as the BaTonga and Doma people has significantly contributed to the enrichment of local culture.
Also enriching our culture are the numerous dances practised by different tribes.
Things such as marriage rites, hunting activities, burials and rites of passage into adulthood have always been accompanied by dancing.
Ceremonies, such as rain-making held at Matonjeni, the most sacred shrine in the country later defiled by Cecil John Rhodes who demanded to be buried on that holy ground in Matopo, were characterised by serious dancing.
All the traditional dances in their various forms tell important stories.
They are purveyors of our enduring traditions.
For example, the Shona have the Mbende-Jerusarema dance, the Ndebele are famous for their Isitshikitsha while the Makishi dance is presented by the Chokwe people from Victoria Falls.
These and many more dances are the pulse of our nation.
The cities may reverberate with contemporary music, but they also boast various festivals throughout the year that present the unique traditional dances.
This year, the annual Jikinya Dance Festival that celebrates various traditional dances will be held today (Friday) at Oliver Mtukudzi’s Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton. 
The festival, held annually by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) aims at encouraging primary schoolchildren to appreciate and perform Zimbabwean traditional dances.
Introduced in 2002, the festival has become increasingly popular with each passing year.
In line with its major running theme: ‘Building Zimbabwe through Traditional Dance’, the festival aims to promote and preserve local culture through the performance of authentic traditional dances.
The festival also seeks to raise the profile and consumption of traditional dances locally and internationally, making them an economic activity that can be commodified for poverty eradication.
This year the festival runs under the theme: ‘Preserving Cultural Heritage and Identity’.
According to the organisers, the theme underscores the need to embrace diverse cultural aspects that bring people together, giving them a sense of belonging.
Schools will showcase a dance of their choice and the common Ihosanna dance. 
Four years ago, the NACZ introduced a system whereby a specific dance was selected as the festival piece that ran for two years and was judged as the ‘Common Dance’.
The Common Dance was introduced so that all participating children, despite their regions could learn, perform and appreciate diverse Zimbabwean cultures. 
Ihosanna is a rain-making dance performed in Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.
Among the Ndebele people, the dance is also performed during spiritual ceremonies.
The founding Vice-Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa, Professor Hope Sadza, donated a trophy for the Jikinya Dance Festival’s Common Dance.
The trophy has since been named the ‘Prof Hope Sadza Trophy for Outstanding Common Dance Performance’.
Last year, the common dance Jerusarema/Mbende was proclaimed a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 
The Jikinya Dance Festival is a partnership programme between NACZ and National Association of Primary Heads (NAPH) that is sponsored by Delta Beverages and Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust. 
NACZ marketing and communications officer Catherine Mthombeni said the festival showcases various traditional dances by primary school pupils and the different dances showcased reflect the endless diversity found in Zimbabwean communities.
“The annual festival showcases various dances by primary school pupils from around the country who would have outshined their contemporaries at provincial level,” said Mthombeni.
“The festival has grown in leaps and bounds over the years, through NACZ’s strategic partnership with NAPH, Delta Corporation and Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust.”
Mthombeni said this year’s theme underscored the need to embrace diverse cultural aspects that bring people together, giving them a sense of belonging.
“At the festival, schools will showcase a dance of their choice as well as the common dance that is Ihosanna dance,” she said.
“This common dance is performed in Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.
“It is a rain-making dance also used during spiritual ceremonies among the Ndebele people.”