The secretive annual Incwala ceremony in which King Mswati
III is said to take narcotics
and engage in unnatural sexual practices, is ‘Swaziland’s most important cultural event,’ according to
a newspaper in effect owned by the King.
The ceremony is ‘a sacred event’, the Swazi Observer said in an editorial comment.
The ceremony is ‘a sacred event’, the Swazi Observer said in an editorial comment.
Incwala is a controversial ceremony that takes place
between November and January each year. Traditionalists say Incwala is a
‘national prayer’, but Christian groups have criticised it for being ‘un-Godly’
and ‘pagan’.
The ceremony is shrouded in secrecy and participants are
barred from talking about what happens. The Observer
reported Incwala ‘has now become a major tourist attraction with hundreds of tourists
flocking the country to witness the colourful event’.
The newspaper added, ‘It has been noted that the numbers of locals and
tourists that attend the ceremony are increasing each year.’
However, the ‘hundreds’ the Observer said were expected to attend the ceremony this year are in
stark contrast to the 50,000 people it was said attended the 2013 ceremony.
The Observer
reported, ‘The
ceremony, which also marks the fresh fruits of the season, has a spiritual
power that is largely lost on outsiders, and indeed many of its inner workings
remain shrouded in secrecy.’
The secrecy surrounding the ceremony in which King
Mswati, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, goes
into ‘seclusion’ has aroused much controversy in the past.
Journalists
who try to report the event are harassed and in 2011 a street vendor who
sold pirated DVDs of Incwala was hauled in by the police and handed over to
traditional authorities for a grilling. He was ordered to reclaim all the
copies of the DVD he had sold.
Failure to do so might have seen him banished from his homeland, local media reported at the time.
Failure to do so might have seen him banished from his homeland, local media reported at the time.
In 2011the Southern Africa Report and Africa is
a Country, reported an eyewitness testimony of Incwala. Africa is a
Country said, ‘The ceremony is cloaked in secrecy and marks the king’s
return to public life after a period of withdrawal and spiritual contemplation.
‘Among its highlights is a symbolic demonstration by the King
of his power and dominance in a process involving his penetration of a black
bull, beaten into semi-conscious immobility to ensure its compliant acceptance
of the royal touch. The royal semen is then collected by a courtier and stored,
for subsequent inclusion in food to be served at Sibaya – traditional councils
– and other national forums.’
See also
ILLEGAL TO POSSESS INCWALA SONGS
SWAZI KING AND BESTIALITY RITUAL
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