Congratulations to Nama musicians on their NAF debut!
Many congratulations to Boetles Gewers, Boeta Gammie, AJ Gammie, Oom Dolly (Sylvester Fortuin), Oom Bampie (JJ Bowkes), and Jaco Julius on their performance debut at South Africa’s 2026 National Arts Festival.
These six musicians designed and performed two fantastic concerts of Nama dance music in the impressive auditorium of the Amazwi South African Museum of Literature. Their renditions of traditional Nama folk songs and original popular hits such as Oom Dolly’s “Jaloers Bokkie” were warmly received by large audiences.
This concert marked an important contribution of indigenous Nama music and dance to the National Arts Festival programme. It was the only such concert dedicated to Nama musical heritage at the Festival.
In addition to performing two concerts as part of the NAF’s Fringe programme, the musicians met with scholars at Rhodes University and Nelson Mandela University, and toured the music archive of Rhodes University’s International Library of African Music.
This event was sponsored by our project “Sounding Indigenous in South Africa”. Special thanks to project collaborator Dr. Sharon Gabie for her assistance on the ground in Makhanda and support of the musicians during the NAF.
