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Angela Sibanda, Showbiz Reporter
Like any craft, music is a social aspect that should be passed from one generation to another as a way of preserving cultural values, social norms, and beliefs.

Charleston Trust Primary School is one of the schools that have shown dedication towards giving children music as a legacy that they will preserve and nurture.

The school’s choir, which is not new in the music industry, has released yet another music video, this time, promoting the knowledge of totems which are a valued cultural aspect among Zimbabweans and Africans at large.

Titled Son of Africa, the music video premièred last Friday and already has over 1 000 views on YouTube.

In the song, the young singers take turns to sing praise lyrics of their totems including Sibanda, Ngwenya, Hungwe, and Mbizi. To make the video more captivating, the kids went the extra mile as they sang while showcasing the animals and objects that served as the emblem of their family clans.

The song also highlights the relations between different surnames like Maphosa and Nkala, Ngwenya and Sithole, an indication that people that might be using different surnames share the same totem and are one people.

In an interview with Saturday Leisure, the choirmaster and music co-ordinator at the school Trevor Mawaka said the song was different from the previous works they have done as the children, who hardly interact with their cultural life, sang with the excitement of discovering their roots.

“The idea was to make the kids aware and proud of who they are. Charleston primary, being a private school, most of the kids that we teach are hardly in touch with their roots so giving them an assignment to research their totems was a way of helping them discover their identities.

“Even after the recording of the song, the kids are still celebrating their totems because it’s now something that they brag about, even when playing. Every child sang about their own totem and the song is actually different from our previous ones because they were actually connecting with the lyrics and singing with pride,” Mawaka said.

The song comes a few weeks after the country celebrated its cultural diversity during the Culture Month in May. Its release was quite timely as it was a few days before the International Day of the African Child, which seeks to promote children’s rights.

Hillside Dams

“We just celebrated Africanism last month and our song comes at a time that we’re celebrating the Day of the African Child. Totems are one of the things that carry our culture hence the African child should be taught to identify with their own origins.”

The choirmaster said he hopes the talent will not end at school choir level.

“We’re hopeful as an institution that out of this group, we’ll have amazing musicians. Even if they don’t make it in the industry, they will become well-informed members of the community who’ll uphold cultural values,” he said.

“We’re working on another song and trying to promote the choir so as to familiarise the kids with their audiences.

We have several amazing kids’ choirs that have made it around the world and the idea is to groom our young talent to reach those levels,” said Mawaka.

Last year, the choir launched their debut song Colour My Dreams whose video was shot at Hillside Dams. Another song Smile featured renowned actor Zenzo Nyathi and poetess Sithandazile Dube.