Day: 30 Aug 2024

The Welsh word ‘𝗘𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗𝗗𝗙𝗢𝗗’ is formed from the Welsh morphemes: eistedd – meaning ‘sit’ and fod – meaning ‘be’ – culminating in the definition, “sitting together”.

As strange as this sounds, when one considers that the earliest form of the eisteddfod was a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, it does make perfect sense! In centuries gone by, the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron.

The vision of Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s Cultural Department is 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰, 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱. This year’s Camdeboo Eisteddfod was an astonishing celebration of exactly that.

The Eisteddfod took place over three busy days. An increase in entries this year led to logistical and administrative challenges, but thanks to an online entry platform using Google Forms and an extensive set of guidelines, the programme was effectively streamlined.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 – 𝟭𝟰, 𝟭𝟱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟭𝟲 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 – 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝘇𝘇 with busloads of choirs dressed in stunning regalia arriving from other schools; children carrying sheet music and instruments, smaller children waiting anxiously to read their poems or play their pieces, gorgeous artworks and photos on display; duos and trios singing in harmony; lines being practiced in quiet places; moms quickly checking if their dancers had lipstick on; folk from the community relaxing in the audience surrounded by music for a few hours; props being shuffled onto stage; bats removed from the curtains to the squeals of ballerinas; tears when certificates weren’t always gold; jubilation when a ‘cum laude’ was awarded and the general endorphin-filled atmosphere that is associated with the performing arts.

𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘧𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴.

Qualified adjudicators were carefully chosen: Lynne Gouws -music, voice, choral and instrumental; Paula Kingwill – drama; Rebecca Langmead – art and photography; Bronwynne Kingwill – dance and Louise Vorster – creative writing.

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 and expertise under challenging circumstances and exhausting time constraints.

As each item was performed – be it a song, piano piece, dance or prose – it was immediately judged, a comment written and a certificate completed. This could not have happened without the invaluable assistance of Union moms, Marie-Louise Oosthuizen and Marsha Bouwer.

Mrs Sharon Krige printed hundreds of certificates and the technical assistance of Johan du Plessis and Muhamad Ahmed were also greatly appreciated. The Eisteddfod committee is especially grateful to Mr Donald Kingwill and his team who really went beyond the call of duty from dawn until dusk, fetching, cleaning, carrying and re-arranging during a very busy week.

As the Camdeboo Eisteddfod drew to a close late on the Friday afternoon, the organisers (𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚) consisting of Ms Zelda Oosthuizen, Mrs Sanette Brink, Mrs Tracy-Lee Chutu and Mrs Bronwen Langmead breathed a collective sigh of satisfaction that it had been a resounding success for the Cultural Department of Union.