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Friday 7 September 2007

REED DANCE – DARK SIDE OF CULTURE

Tens of thousands of maidens this week left the annual Reed Dance to return to their hungry villages, following what the Swazi media have been calling the biggest cultural event in Africa.

But as the dust settles on the traditional event at which ‘maidens’ dance half naked before King Mswati III, news has been emerging in the Times of Swaziland about another, darker, side of Swaziland culture at the Reed Dance.

This is the culture of violence and the abuse of authority. The Times reported on Wednesday (5 September 2007) that the traditional authorities who were given the responsibility of supervising the ‘maidens’ systematically detained and whipped young men who were caught at night trying to get close to the young women.

In a report starkly headlined, ‘27 men whipped at Reed Dance’, the Times reports that the men were caught, whipped, and temporarily detained after invading the camp where the maidens were staying.

The whipping was not an isolated incident and the Times reports that some men were whipped on Saturday and others on Sunday. So we must assume that the detention and whipping of unwelcome visitors was an agreed method of discipline among those tasked with supervising the maidens.

The Times report quotes Muzi Dlamini, one of the men responsible for supervising the maidens, saying that the men were taken to a small tent. ‘They were beaten with sjamboks and sticks. We were disciplining them and I must say they deserved such a punishment.’

He spoke about two separate occasions when men were detained and beaten. ‘After we had detained these boys, there were no more visits from strangers. Indeed it worked for us,’ he said.

The Times gives an objective, if one-sided, report of the incidents. As is typical of just about all reports in the Swazi media, information is gathered from only one source, in this case Muzi Dlamini, the man who carried out the whipping.

Although we should be grateful for the Times for reporting this matter, the newspaper misses an important point in the story: that the authorities had taken it upon themselves to give out punishment to the men. In traditional custom in Swaziland, the punishers may have been entitled to act in the way that they did, but in Swazi law they were not. There is at the very least a case here for Dlamini and the others who helped him to face prosecution for assault.

Not only did the Times miss the wider context of the story, it failed to connect it to another story of violence at the Reed Dance it has been running for two days this week. On Tuesday (4 September 2007), the Times reported that one of the senor overseers of the maidens, Ntfonjeni Dlamini, assaulted a group of maidens with a stick. He hurt two of them so badly, the Times reports, that they had to go to Lobamba Clinic, where one of them was treated for injuries to her right leg and bruises all over her body. The other was reported to have bruises all over her body and was bleeding on her back.

Four other ‘maidens’ were also thrashed, but were not as badly injured. Confusingly, the Times referred to the maidens as ‘girls’ but never gave their ages. In Swazi traditional culture all women are considered to be children with no legal status and subject to discipline by their men folk (usually meaning their fathers or husbands).

This time the Times published quotes from more than one source. The injured ‘girls’ have their say and the Times also interviews the man in overall charge of the maidens and Ntfonjeni Dlamini himself. Dlamini said he did not know that any maidens were injured.

The Times followed up the story the following day (Wednesday 5 September 2007) reporting that the two women had reported Ntfonjeni Dlamini to the police. The Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse also commented about the wrongfulness of beating children.

But the Times couldn’t wait for the police investigation to conclude, it has already convicted Ntfonjeni Dlamini.

In an editorial comment, the Times says, ‘Ntfonjeni Dlamini … seems to believe he holds the right to beat up anybody’s child for no apparent reason.’ It called on ‘traditional authorities’ to take strong action against the blemishing of the Reed Dance, which it describes as a ‘colourful event’ and an opportunity for Swaziland to make a bit of money from tourists.

As well as the two stories already mentioned the Times also gave an account of eight stabbings in isolated incidents at the Reed Dance. The newspaper reported that those stabbed were involved in brawls over ‘girls’. (Wednesday 5 September 2007)

We should welcome the Times reporting, even if it hasn’t done a particularly good job of the matter. The only other daily newspaper in Swaziland, the Swazi Observer, failed to report any of the ‘downside’ to the Reed Dance. This is to be expected from the most traditional of newspapers in Swaziland and one run by a company that is effectively owned by the Swazi Royal Family.

But news editors at the Times should stand back a little and take a look at the bigger picture. It reported the various disturbances at the Reed Dance as if they were isolated incidents, when they were in fact connected.

There are two themes that emerge from these stories that deserve further consideration from the Swazi media.

The first is the role of those in ‘traditional’ authority and the way they are allowed to ignore the law. The Times in its editorial comment cast doubt on whether anything would be done about Ntfonjeni Dlamini and we might assume this is because in Swaziland the ruling elite relies on the upholding of Swazi traditions for their power. A legal system that places a person’s human rights at its centre would not tolerate ‘Swazi custom’ for one moment.

The second is the general attitude of Swazi society to its women. Many see the annual Reed Dance as an event that cements Swazi culture, but others with a more modern outlook, believe it to be outdated and some say the Reed Dance, is old fashioned and makes a mockery of women, as it has become little more than a showcase for the king to choose a new bride.

Some more investigation on these themes by the Swazi media would be most welcome.

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