MUREWA-BASED St Paul’s Musami Primary School on Friday shrugged off stiff competition and ended Dombodzvuku Primary School’s six-year dominance to emerge the ultimate winners of the this year’s annual Jerusarema/Mbende dance competitions held at Murewa Culture Centre.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
For their victory, the school walked away $250 richer, while second placed Chipindura Primary from Bindura and third placed Dombodzvuku got $150 and $100, respectively for their efforts.
Festival co-ordinator, Cuthbert Maziwa said this year’s edition was tough compared to previous years.
“This year’s Mbende competition was tough and this was shown by the schools that won. Dombodzvuku Primary School has been winning over the past years, but this time they faced tough opponents, who did their homework. Our invited school from Bindura did exceptionally well and defeated both Uzumba and Murewa schools, who hail from areas where Mbende is popular,” he said.
“All in all, the competition went on well and the high turnout shows that the people around here value their tradition and culture.”
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Before the competitions, the audience was treated to some scintillating Mbende dance antics by renowned groups like Shingirayi and Ngoma Dzepasi dance groups.
Mbende-Jerusarema dance was proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in 2005, with Murewa Culture Centre acting as the reference place for safeguarding purposes.
This year Jerusarema/Mbende ran concurrently with the ongoing Mashonaland East Cultural Festival (Mecuf).
The festival (Mecuf) has moved to Mutoko district before concluding in Marondera this Saturday, where dancehall sensation Winky D will lead performances at Rudhaka Stadium.