Groot Marico community members celebrate Bosman Cultural Festival

Members of the small town of Groot Marico in the North West have gathered at the Herman Charles Bosman Living Museum for the annual Bosman Cultural Weekend Festival. This year is especially significant as it marks 100 years since Bosman arrived at Groot Marico. The cultural event features storytelling, dance and other performances that entertains visitors and celebrates the history and culture of Groot Marico. “I think it’s so lovely to see local theatre, local culture, local talent still being developed and celebrated,” says one of the residents. “I think it’s important to get children off the streets and away from drugs and alcohol by involving them in cultural activities,” says another resident. The festival also highlights the importance of keeping local history and traditions alive for future generations. Farzanah Loonate from North West University is conducting research on Bosman. “In later years, and just shortly before he (Bosman) passed on in 1951, he was writing a novel called Willemsdorp. And in Willemsdorp, his critique is quite explicit of racial laws that were passed in South Africa during that time,” says Loonate. “The racial laws that I’m specifically referring to is the Immorality Act, as well as the Group Areas Act. And by him specifically mentioning instances in the novel where characters’ lives were affected as a result of these laws was, from my perspective, a brave