WC Indigenous Games Festival 2024 – celebrating our collective heritage

On Tuesday, 24 September 2024, Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Ricardo Mackenzie, officially opened the Western Cape Indigenous Games Festival 2024 in Kuils River, celebrating our collective South African heritage.

The three-day Festival runs from 24 to 26 September at the Western Cape Sports School, with district teams from across the province competing in Dibeke, Diketo, Drie-Stokkies, Iintonga, Jukskei, Kgati, Kho-Kho, Morabaraba, and Ncuva.

There are over 700 participants at the Festival, from the Cape Winelands, Central Karoo, Eden, Overberg, West Coast, and the Metro. Between May and July 2024, District Indigenous Games tournaments were held in all six districts of the Western Cape, where final district teams for the various codes were selected and announced through Local Organising Committees.

Provincial Minister Ricardo Mackenzie said, “The Western Cape Indigenous Games Festival is bringing people together so that they can understand the games their ancestors played. Many of these games are about strategy, tactics, team-building and leadership. So, this festival is about winning and having fun, but also about preserving our cultural history to carry it forward for the next generation. Our forefathers played these games hundreds of years ago for social inclusion and getting together as communities. By continuing to host these games, we are preserving that culture, history, and heritage. ”

Officials from the national Department of Sport, Arts and Culture are also attending the Western Cape Indigenous Games Festival to provide oversight support.