The Welsh word ‘๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ข๐’ is formed from the Welsh morphemes: eistedd โ meaning โsitโ and fod โ meaning โbeโ – culminating in the definition, โsitting togetherโ.
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-Reinetโs Cultural Department is ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐บ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ, ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ. This yearโs 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.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ – ๐ญ๐ฐ, ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ด๐๐๐ – ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐๐ 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 werenโt always gold; jubilation when a โcum laudeโ was awarded and the general endorphin-filled atmosphere that is associated with the performing arts.
๐๐ต ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ด, ๐ช๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด.
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 โ creative writing.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐๐น ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ and expertise under challenging circumstances and exhausting time constraints.
As each item was performed โ be it a song, piano piece, dance or prose โ 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 (๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐) 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.
