The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture in Limpopo hosted a media tour to one of the newly opened heritage sites in the Vhembe District, as part of its heritage month commemoration last Wednesday.

The journalists from media institutions such as Limpopo Mirror, Capricorn Voice, Sowetan, African Face, Jacaranda RM FM and Limpopo SABC’s Phalaphala FM visited several heritage sites like Dzata Ruins 1 situated at Dzanani, Dzata Ruins 2 situated at Tshiendeulu, the breathing stone and Lake Fundudzi.

According to the Dzata Ruins curator, Mrs Mpho Tshikosi, the Dzata 1 museum was constructed within the Dzata Ruins and Dzata was a place of, peace, security and comfort. She added that it was a place where middle-stone-age people used to live.  “This was the place where the Vhasenzi people first stayed when they arrived from central Africa, led by Chief Dimbanyika, in 1690. When Dimbanyika arrived with his people, the Vhatavhantshindi were already staying at Dzata,” she said.

Dzata ruins 2, according to Tshikosi, is a place where Dimbanyika, the first king of the Vhasenzi people, died after he was trapped inside the caves when he was hunting. “The stones that you are seeing here were carried by the Vhasenzi people in Zimbabwe. They used to carry them with their hands to Dzata, as there was no transport,” Tshikosi outlined to journalists during the tour.

Asked why they had not used the stones to build their homes, Tshikosi acknowledged that the Vhasenzi believed that the stones from Mashonaland signified royal importance. What is mysterious is that the Ramabulanas and the Netshiendeulus do not see eye to eye, meaning that they are not supposed to face each other, according to their tradition.

According to Adele van der Linde from the Limpopo Department of Arts and Culture, the Dzata Ruins and Lake Fundudzi are going to be declared national heritage sites like Mapungumbwe. “Our aim is to popularize these heritage sites like we did with Mapungumbwe,” she said.

Van der Linde added that the department was still going to host the Heritage Month event at the Lesley Manyathela Stadium in Musina from September 23 to 25 as part of the Heritage Month celebrations.

“The celebration will start with an Ubuntu Imbizo on the 23rd at the stadium, and will then be followed by the exhibition the following day at Mapungubwe,” she announced, adding that the department will also held the Ubuntu award the same evening, where an icon from Africa will be awarded. Last year, the Ubuntu Award was received by the former president of Zambia, Dr Kenneth Kaunda.

The six kings of Limpopo, King Makhado, Sekhukhune, Malebogo, Makgoba, Mokopane and Nghunghunyane, will also receive Ubuntu Awards in acknowledgement of their contribution to the province’s heritage.

The journalists also visited Lake Funduzi.