Rehearsals for this year’s Reed Dance in Swaziland have
started and the maidens who dance bare-breasted in front of King Mswati III
have been told by organisers they must wear short skirts.
The Reed Dance or Umhlanga is an annual event in which
tens of thousands of ‘maidens’, some as young as ten, dance for the pleasure of
the King. It is widely reported within Swaziland that the dancers are
‘virgins’.
The ceremony has come under
criticism in recent years because of its overt political nature. The maidens
are taught songs that decry activists who want democracy in the small kingdom
ruled by King Mswati, who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
It has also been reported
that many maidens are paid to take part in the ceremony or are threatened with
public whippings if they do not.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported on
Wednesday (23 August 2017) that rehearsals for the event are underway. It
reported that Princess Gcebile, Principal
Secretary in the Ministry of Tinkhundla, told representatives of more than 50 chiefdoms
in Shiselweni they needed to maintain tradition and attend the ceremony wearing
short skirts.
International observers
have pointed to the ‘sleazy’ nature of the Reed Dance in which half-naked
children dance for the King who is aged 49.
In 2016, the Guardian newspaper, a respected international
publication based in the United Kingdom, reported, ‘Traditionally,
the King is allowed to choose one of the women as a wife, but in recent years
the festival has been more about preserving a cultural heritage.’
The newspaper added that many participants were forced to attend the Umhlanga. It quoted a 29-year-old teacher
saying, ‘They say we are not forced, but we are. Families who don’t send
their daughters to the Umhlanga
have to pay a fine, usually a goat or a cow.’
She added, ‘The girls sleep in small classrooms or tents without proper
sanitation. There are also many rules you have to adhere to when you attend the
Umhlanga. This is the 21st
century. We shouldn’t be forced to wear certain clothes.’
The Guardian reported for some
girls, taking part in the festival was a way to make some money. It quoted one
teenager who said, ‘It’s going to be a fun week. We are very excited. We are given
500 rand each.’
Zwane, a mother of six, told the newspaper forcing or bribing young
girls to attend the Umhlanga was
a violation of their human rights. ‘Chiefs abuse their power and penalise
families who don’t take part. The whole idea is for women to show themselves
naked in front of the King so that he can choose a wife. It’s very degrading to
women. We don’t walk around bare-breasted at home. Why should we do it at
cultural ceremonies?’
Umhlanga,
billed as Swaziland’s foremost cultural day, proved to be anything but in 2013
when 120,000 half-naked maidens reportedly sang a song praising the Kings then-recent
pronouncement about his continued rule over his kingdom.
They praised the King for announcing that henceforth Swaziland would be a ‘Monarchical
Democracy’. This was a new name for the already existing ‘Tinkhundla’ system
that puts all power in the hands of the King.
The King said he had been
told in a vision to make this change.
The song included these
words (loosely translated from the original), ‘Your Majesty Swaziland is well
governed through the Tinkhundla System of Democracy and will be victorious
through it.’
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the
kingdom, reported at the time, ‘Royal Swaziland Police Superintendent Wendy
Hleta who was the Master [sic] of
Ceremonies together with former Indvuna YeMbali Nothando Ntshangase noted that
the maidens were seemingly pleased with the message conveyed by the new
composition.’
The sinister nature of the Reed Dance was also exposed in 2012 when about 500 children
were ordered to sing a song vilifying political parties. This was part of a
clampdown on dissent in the kingdom.
The children were taught a
song to sing at the dance which had lyrics that when translated into English
said political parties ‘set people against each other’ and said that if
political parties were allowed to exist in the kingdom the King’s people ‘could
start fighting each other’.
Political parties are
banned in Swaziland, but there is increasing pressure from pro-democrats for
this to change. Some traditional authorities also believe that support for the
present system that puts them in control is on the wane. In Swaziland
pro-democracy demonstrations have been attacked by police and state security
forces.
In 2014, it was reported by media within Swaziland that girls had been
told if they did not attend that year’s Reed Dance they would be publicly
whipped. Girls in the Mbilaneni chiefdom were told that if they travelled to
the event but do not attended the
ceremony, they will be beaten on the buttocks when they returned to their
homesteads.
Thami Thikazi, the headman of the Mbilaneni chiefdom, said if parents
disagreed with the punishment they would be forced to wield the lash
themselves.
The Swazi Observer, reported at the time Thikazi said,
‘In case parents distance themselves from such, we are going to order them to
be the ones administering the punishment in the form of strokes on the buttocks
should it be found that they (girls) did something intolerable. The punishment
will take place in full view of everyone.’
See also
DISPUTE OVER REED DANCE SAFETY
SWAZI
MAIDENS LEARN POLITICAL SONGS
CULTURAL REED DANCE TURNS POLITICAL
SWAZIS FORCED TO DANCE FOR KING
SWAZI
GIRLS FACE PUBLIC WHIPPING
