Shiluva to carry the Tsonga flag at Indoni

The 17-year-old Shiluva Shirindza will be representing the Tsonga culture as one of the finalists in the Indoni Miss Cultural South Africa pageant. Earlier this year, she won the title of first princess at the Miss Hlanganani contest.

Shirindza is currently a Grade 11 scholar at Hluvuka High School. “I started entering for beauty pageants at the age of 13,” she said. She mentions that she had been crowned Miss Hluvuka for two consecutive years, in 2014 and 2015.

According to Shirindza, her parents had motivated her a lot to be an achiever. “My parents taught me many things about culture. They are from the royal family, an aspect that I am very proud of,” she said.

“I feel very special to be one of the finalists of the Indoni Miss Cultural pageant. I know a lot about the history of Tsongas and how you have to behave when you are a Tsonga. I also know so many songs, dances and how to cook traditional food. I hope I will be crowned Indoni Miss Cultural South Africa 2016,” she said.

She advised young ladies who want to enter for beauty pageants not to underestimate themselves. “They should give it a try, because you don’t know where your gift is. Maybe one day they can become Miss World,” she said.

The 12 finalists from nine provinces participating in the Indoni Miss Cultural South Africa competition were presented in Durban during the Indoni Cultural Festival. The theme for this year’s competition is “My Heritage, My Pride”.

Shirindza has called upon people to vote for her. People can vote for her by sending an SMS “Indoni Tsonga” to 48496. They can vote as many times as they want to and each SMS message costs R1,50.

The red-carpet day for the 2016 Miss Indoni Cultural South Africa competition will be 15 October and the event will take place in Durban.

News - Date: 18 September 2016

Mbulaheni Ridovhona

The 22-year-old Mbulaheni (Gary) Ridovhona has been passionate about journalism to the extent that he would buy himself a copy of weekly Univen students' newsletter, Our Voice. After reading, he would write stories about his rural village, Mamvuka, and submit them to the very newsletter for publication. His deep-rooted love for words and writing saw him register for a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies at the University of Venda, and joined the Limpopo Mirror team in February 2016 as a journalism intern.

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