🛖 Shelter and Cultural Identity

🏠 Exploring Our Homes and Traditions

✅ What will you learn?
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
✅ Identify different types of buildings and homes in your community.
✅ Explain the link between the materials used, the purpose of the building, and the culture of the people.
✅ Describe how buildings reflect the cultural background of a group.
✅ Talk about how buildings are decorated and how these decorations relate to culture.
✅ Give examples of artefacts and say which cultural groups use them.

🏡 Different Types of Buildings and Homes

People in Botswana build many different types of buildings and homes. Some are made from modern materials like bricks, iron sheets, glass, and cement. Others are made from natural materials such as grass, wood, mud, and reeds.

Traditional homes often depend on what materials are found in the area:

• Bakwena, Bangwato, and Balete people use mud and thatch.

• Wayeyi and Bahambukushu people use reeds and grass near the Okavango River.

• Basarwa people build temporary shelters using branches and grass.

Each home is different because of the group’s culture, the weather, and the use of the building.

🖌️ Decorations and Culture

Homes are not just for living. They also show our traditions. In some cultures, walls are decorated with patterns using soil of different colours. These decorations may show animals or symbols that are important to the group.

🪣 What Are Artefacts?

An artefact is something made or used by people long ago. It shows us how they lived and helps us remember our culture. In Botswana, many artefacts are still used today, especially in the home.

Here are some examples of artefacts:

• Nkgwana

• Sego

• Kgamelo

• Kika le motshe

• Tshilwana 

• Lefetlho

• Loswana

• Mothubane

• Leselo

These artefacts are important because:

• They show how people lived in the past.

• They are part of our cultural identity.

• They are still used today by many people.

🧠 Let’s Think!

☑️ What type of house do you live in? What is it made of?
☑️ Why do people in different places build homes in different ways?
☑️ What building materials are found in your area?
☑️ Can you name any artefacts in your home? Who uses them?

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