{
  "id": 5802231,
  "title": "Traditionalists gather in Polokwane for ancestral festival",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/traditionalists-gather-in-polokwane-for-ancestral-festival",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-05T16:24:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SABC News",
    "slug": "sabc-news",
    "url": "https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/traditionalists-gather-in-polokwane-for-ancestral-festival/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Traditionalists have convened in Polokwane, Limpopo, for an ancestral festival, marking the commencement of a new year or season. This event, known as Malombo, signifies the beginning of the African New Year. African traditional healers are observing the start of the African New Year through the ancestral dance festival, Malombo, taking place in Limpopo.\n\nThis year's gathering brings together local traditionalists alongside participants from diverse backgrounds. They hail from Kenya's Maasai community, the Khoisan from the Kalahari in Botswana, Brazil, and the Netherlands. Attired in their cultural garb, they engage in dancing, accompanied by traditional songs, all while performing rituals.\n\nDr Mpho Makhado, an herbalist and traditional healer, explains that the festival signifies the start of the African year. She states, \"We ourselves are performing and ululating when we ask our ancestors to open ways and doors and to protect those who are suffering from gender-based violence, accidents, all those troubles that the country is facing. We have invited other countries like people from Kenya, we have Masai, the people from Kalahari, the Khoisan, and there are people from Brazil, Netherlands.\"",
  "summary": "Traditional healer Dr Mpho Makhado says the festival marks the beginning of the African year",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}