Implications of cultural commodification on the authenticity of iKalanga music: a case of Domboshaba traditional music festival in Botswana

A significant amount of literature on tourism in Botswana focuses on nature-based tourism and ignores other forms of the industry. Recently, culture tourism has been mooted as one of the avenues that could be used to diversify the tourism product away from nature-based tourism. Literature addressing the ways in which traditional music as a tourism product may be affected by commodification is limited. In this study, we explore the implications of cultural commodification on traditional iKalanga music using a case of Domboshaba traditional music festival. The key question being addressed is how commodification of iKalanga traditional music has affected its authenticity. Research materials used in this study were collected using the key informant interviews and a focus group discussion. Results showed that the commodification of traditional iKalanga music has considerably revolutionized the music. This paper notes that the changes observed in relation to iKalanga music have had a significant bearing on the authenticity of the music. Therefore, there is a need for communities to tread carefully in their endeavor to commodify traditional music so as to avoid a complete loss of the music's authenticity.

Automated summary

This study explores the implications of cultural commodification on traditional iKalanga music, using the Domboshaba traditional music festival as a case study. The results showed that commodification has significantly revolutionized the music, leading to changes that impact the authenticity of the music. Thus, communities need to tread carefully in their efforts to commodify traditional music to avoid a complete loss of authenticity.