Rural communities in spotlight at Hamburg festival

The inaugural Eziko Heritage Festival to be held at the Hamburg Sports Ground this weekend aims to do more than simply entertain. Festival founder and award-winning artist Dumza Maswana said the event was born from a desire to give rural communities access to cultural experiences that often bypassed them. “I wanted to give people from the rural areas the experience of having festivals because people living in villages are often left out, yet they are the custodians of our culture,” he said.

The festival, to be held on Friday and Saturday, will blend traditional ceremonies, indigenous games, storytelling, wellness activities and live music into a two-day event that it is hoped will become an annual celebration of culture and community. And beyond entertainment, the festival is intended to reposition Hamburg as a tourism destination and demonstrate that rural communities are not merely repositories of tradition but places where culture continues to thrive. Maswana, who believes Hamburg has untapped tourism potential, said the festival was designed to challenge stereotypes about rural life.

“We want to give rural communities the spotlight they deserve. “People often think of villages as places where we only go to bury our loved ones, but they are rich in heritage. “I want people from all over SA to come and experience how we live and appreciate the richness of our traditions,” he said.

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Maswana said the destination was chosen not only because of its proximity to his home but because of the memories it held for many families in the region. “It brings back wonderful childhood memories, and I want people to rediscover the area and see its tourism potential.”

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