A group of local residents took part in the Provincial Indigenous Games, hosted by OR Tambo Ditrict Municipality in Port St Johns, from Saturday 25 September to Sunday 26 September.The Grahamstown group, which was part of the Cacadu team at the provincial event, left on Friday, with staff from the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC).
A group of local residents took part in the Provincial Indigenous Games, hosted by OR Tambo Ditrict Municipality in Port St Johns, from Saturday 25 September to Sunday 26 September.The Grahamstown group, which was part of the Cacadu team at the provincial event, left on Friday, with staff from the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC).
DSRAC held a number of trials over the past few months in the Cacadu region before picking a Cacadu team.
The Indigenous Games Programme is a government initiative that started in 1999 when South Africa hosted the All Africa Games in Johannesburg.
Through its Sport and Recreation directorate, the department introduced and adopted the programme as
an official programme in the year 2000.
The Eastern Cape launched the Provincial Indigenous Games Programme in 2001, as the first province in the country to present a provincial festival for two consecutive years in 2002/03 and 2003/04.
The province continues to lead the country in ensuring that indigenous games filter to all corners of the province by augmenting provincial festivals with the introduction of district festivals.
This approach has broadened the mass participation base and quality athletes were easily
identified.
In its tenth anniversary the province has participated at all five National Indigenous Games festivals. The Eastern Cape hosted the fourth National Indigenous Games in 2007 and 13 participants from the province were part of the South African team that demonstrated the games in Korea in 2008.
The objective of playing indigenous games is to promote the restoration of African identity and cultural
diversity and the enhancement of mass participation.
This year saw teams selected on a cluster approach for the provincial festival. Nelson Mandela and Cacadu fall under cluster one and cluster two is made up of Afred Nzo and Ukhahlamba while cluster three consists of Amathole and Chris Hani.
The indigenous games are: umrabaraba, jukskei, dibeke, khokho, incuva, upuca, ugqaphu (skipping rope) and intonga (stick fighting). After the provincial event, a team will be selected to represent the Eastern Cape at the national event.
