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As the country observes Heritage Day on 24 September 2026, the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation in Gauteng will host the Provincial Indigenous Games from 23 to 25 September 2026 at Konka Adventure Camp in Magaliesburg.
These activities will bring communities together through sport to celebrate, preserve and promote the province’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.
The Provincial Indigenous Games provide a significant platform to guarantee that indigenous sporting traditions are not lost, but continue to be practised, celebrated and passed from one generation to the next.
The games are much more than a sporting competition. They represent a living connection to the traditions, knowledge, stories and values of our communities. Participants will compete on games such as morabaraba, diketo, kgati, dibeke, jukskei, intonga amongst others which have been part of our rich indigenous sporting tradition that has been passed down from one generation to the other.
Speaking ahead of the games, MEC Lebogang Maile said that the Gauteng Provincial Government recognises that heritage is not limited to museums, monuments and historical sites.
“Our heritage is rich and diverse as it is practiced and expressed through our languages, music, dance, food, customs, indigenous knowledge, traditional practices and more importantly, in the games that our communities have played over many years”.
“The Provincial Indigenous Games thus provide an opportunity to keep our heritage alive and relevant, particularly among the youth. By creating opportunities for children, young people, families and communities to learn and participate in indigenous games, government is playing an active role in strengthening the transmission of cultural practices and indigenous knowledge from older generations to younger generations”.
“As we celebrate Heritage Month, we call upon all residents of Gauteng to embrace their heritage in its different forms, learn more about their history, traditions, and take pride in who they are”.
“Let us teach our children our languages, our stories, our customs and our games so that these treasures are carried forward to future generations for preservation”, emphasised MEC Maile.
“We further encourage every resident of Gauteng, regardless of their background, to use this Heritage Month as an opportunity to celebrate the heritage that makes us who we are, while also respecting and appreciating the diverse cultures that make our province strong and unique”, asserted MEC Maile.
The Gauteng Provincial Indigenous Games also contribute to the broader objective of using sport as a lever to promote social cohesion. The games also provide an opportunity to place indigenous sporting activities at the centre of community life.
Many of these games help in developing skills such as numeracy, literacy, agility, balance, coordination, accuracy, strategy and patience, while connecting participants with traditional forms of recreation.
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