In a few weeks time we shall see the annual ‘Reed Dance’ ceremony at which maidens from all over Swaziland perform before the king.
This ceremony attracts massive attention in the media inside Swaziland and most years it is also covered by some foreign news media.
In the second of an occasional series looking at how foreign television stations report on Swaziland, here is a report on the Reed Festival that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) televised after last year’s ceremony.
The report begins by looking at the ceremony itself and then puts the significance of the event into a broader cultural context.
It includes a rare face-to-face interview with King Mswati III (see picture).
The reporter Allan Little describes Swaziland as ‘a triumph of African tradition over an imported modernity.’
Viewers who have been raised on the deferential reporting of Swazi TV and Channel S may find this report disturbing.
The report, which lasts about three minutes, can be found here.
This ceremony attracts massive attention in the media inside Swaziland and most years it is also covered by some foreign news media.
In the second of an occasional series looking at how foreign television stations report on Swaziland, here is a report on the Reed Festival that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) televised after last year’s ceremony.
The report begins by looking at the ceremony itself and then puts the significance of the event into a broader cultural context.
It includes a rare face-to-face interview with King Mswati III (see picture).
The reporter Allan Little describes Swaziland as ‘a triumph of African tradition over an imported modernity.’
Viewers who have been raised on the deferential reporting of Swazi TV and Channel S may find this report disturbing.
The report, which lasts about three minutes, can be found here.
No comments:
Post a Comment