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This year’s Reed Dance or Umhlanga festival took place between 27 Aug 2019 and 2 Sept 2019. During this annual Swazi and Zulu event, tens of thousands of unmarried Swazi girls and women travel from the various chiefdoms to Ludzidzini Royal Village to participate in the eight day extravaganza. |
In South Africa, the reed dance was introduced by the current Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini in 1991.The dance in South Africa takes place in Enyokeni Nangoma, a royal kraal of the Zulu king and it is known as Umkhosi woMhlanga. More than 25,000 virgins gather at the king’s traditional residence in a colorful ceremony every September.
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| Preparations For The Dance |
The
girls wear traditional attire, such as beads, anklets, bracelets, necklaces and
skirts that show their bottoms. They dress in their skirts and sash with their
breasts exposed according to their tradition, holding the knives they used to
cut the reeds as a symbol of their virginity.
On the day of the ceremony, the girls start
walking to the main hut of the palace. As the king appears to watch the
procession of girls, he is praised by poets or praise singers. The girls
collect a reed from a huge pile and proceed in a very long procession. As they
approach the king, they lay their reed down and head towards where the king is
delivering his speech.
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| Matching In a Procession of The Reed Dance |
In
Swaziland, girls begin the rite by gathering at the Ludzdzini Royal Village. The
following day, they disperse to surrounding areas to collect tall reeds. The
following day they prepare their traditional costumes consisting of a bead
necklace, rattling anklets, made from cocoons, a sash and a skirt. They also
carry the bush knives which they had earlier use to cut the reeds as a symbol
of their virginity.
The
girls dance and sing in front of the royal family as well as a crowd of
dignitaries, tourists and spectators. The king’s many daughters and royal
princesses also participate in the reed dance and are distinguished from the
rest by the crown of red feathers they wear on the head.
The
Swazi King is traditionally mandated to pick a new wife every year from the
virgins who partake in the traditional chastity rite held at the Ludzidzini
Royal palace near Swaziland’s capital Mbambane.
King
Mswati III succeeded his father in 1983 following the death of his father in
1982.He became the Crown Prince in 1983 at the age of 18, and was crowned king
in 1986. The aim of the ceremony is to promote respect for young women, and
preserve the custom of keeping girls as virgins until marriage.
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