Some of you may remember an email from last year’s Reed Dance or Umhlanga Ceremony so i won’t bore you with too many pictures, but i will bore you with a few :). Since the schools are on break I’ve taken this opportunity to learn more about Swazi culture including going to the Reed Dance and I just learned the Swazi National Anthem, it has less than 20 words but its all in SiSwati and have you ever tried to sing a song with “clicks” in the lyrics?
Me and my friend Dolly in traditional Swazi attire. On the top is a lihiya (lee-hee-ya) of the Swazi flag, my Swazi skirt, and shoes with the Swazi shield on them. Oh and my traditional Swazi sunglasses…hey, it was hot and sunny, ok? Before I reached the Reed Dance i stopped at the gas station to buy a coke. I had forgotten what I was wearing and the EVERYONE at the gas station was staring at me and all the men were trying to get my attention to see how many cows my father would want as my brideprice.
Tourist central. Here’s the drive into the Queen Mother’s royal residence which is just a few minutes from my house. The decorations are the Swazi flag colors and the Swazi shield.
All 50,000 plus Swazi maidens dance into the stadium. Leading the girls is the princesses (King Mswati’s daughters, His brothers daughters and His fathers daughters). They sing about 5 or 6 songs which have only about 5-10 words and they sing the songs over and over and over and over…you get the point. The songs are all in SiSwati and the first song says “turn and come here”, singing to all the girls who aren’t at the dance to come from wherever you are and come. Other songs say “We are the flowers of Swaziland” and others praise the King.They danced for 3 hours and then the King came out and dances around admiring the girls.
Can I be honest? The Reed Dance bores me, like i said its the same song over and over and over. This year the highlight of the Dance was watching these tourists jump up one at a time to have their pictures with the girls as they dance past and then the Swazi police (the woman in the white shirt) scold them and push them out of the way. There was like 20 of them in this group and they each went 1 by 1 as soon as the police looked the other way, it was hilarious!
EVERYTIME I BROWSE THE INTERNET , I DONT FORGET TO VISIT YOUR WEBSITE . THESE PHOTOS THEY REALLY MAKE ME HAPPY . SWAZI HAS A RICH CULTURE THAT WILL ALWAYS MAKE US PROUD AS AFRICANs . HERE IN ZAMBIA WE HAVE GOT KUOMBOKA CEREMONY EVERY YEAR, BUT YOUR CULTURE SPEAKS MILLIONS TO ME . GOD WILLING , I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO ATTEND ONE . OUR PRESIDENT DR MWANAWASA TESTIFIED THE GOODNESS OF YOUR RICH CULTURE . DONT MIND ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE SAYING . THEIR PRACTICE IS MORE WICKED THAN THE CULTURE THAT IS SOLIDIFYING THE UNION OF SWAZI PEOPLE .AM HAPPY FOR YOU PEOPLE . IF THERE IS ANY WAY I CAN START CONNECTION YOU PEOPLE , KINDLY TAKE NOTE OF MY Email address. [email protected].
EVERYTIME I BROWSE THE INTERNET , I DONT FORGET TO VISIT YOUR WEBSITE . THESE PHOTOS THEY REALLY MAKE ME HAPPY . SWAZI HAS A RICH CULTURE THAT WILL ALWAYS MAKE US PROUD AS AFRICANs . HERE IN ZAMBIA WE HAVE GOT KUOMBOKA CEREMONY EVERY YEAR, BUT YOUR CULTURE SPEAKS MILLIONS TO ME . GOD WILLING , I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO ATTEND ONE . OUR PRESIDENT DR MWANAWASA TESTIFIED THE GOODNESS OF YOUR RICH CULTURE . DONT MIND ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE SAYING . THEIR PRACTICE IS MORE WICKED THAN THE CULTURE THAT IS SOLIDIFYING THE UNION OF SWAZI PEOPLE .AM HAPPY FOR YOU PEOPLE . IF THERE IS ANY WAY I CAN START CONNECTING WITH YOU PEOPLE , KINDLY TAKE NOTE OF MY Email address. [email protected].
I LOVE your pictures!! One picture is worth a thousand words. You are a very cute Swazi gal. Blue is your color:). The girls getting their picture taken look Asian. What a great cultural experience!
Love ya,
Bev
Hi Becca, I agree with Bevgreat pictures! Your cow story is hilariousbe careful. I love your smile and am encouraged by your dedication to these people. I can understand you’d be bored with it. Take care Love in Christ, Betty
I love your pics the cow story is so funny, by the way i have the same in red traditional cloth my boyfriend brought it for me from Swazi and i love it, i just can’t wait to go there.
Naomi
I REALLY ENJOYED THE PICTURES OF REED DANCE. SWAZI ,YOU REALLY HAVE RICH CULTURE. NO WONDER OUR PRESIDENT MR MWANAWASA LP TOOK TIME TO COME BACK HOME. YOU PEOPLE YOU MAKE AFRICA GOOD. DONT MIND THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE FUN COMMENTS , THEY ARE JUST WEAK IN MIND .AFRICA IS THE AFRICANS ,LET US PROTECT RICH CULTURE FOR FUTURE GENERATION.
i love your work…can we work together… my emil is [email protected] i need to work with you…we have a lot of travelling to do together…i hope to hear from you.
chika
Indlela ibutwa kulabasembili, Keep on practice your forefathers customs for there are your creature. A bird is beautiful becuase of it’s furthers and MaSwati mahle ngemvunulo ayo.
U HAVE NICE PICTURES AND WE TANZANIAN ALSO APPRECIATE YOUR CULTURE………..WELCOME IN TANZANIAN MA FRIEND
U HAVE NICE PICTURES AND WE TANZANIAN ALSO APPRECIATE YOUR CULTURE………..WELCOME IN TANZANIAN MA FRIEND
i love this culture it embraces the truth about our origins i to come from swaziland and this culture is a constant reminder to keep yourself pure and respect your body as a women, its sad to think that people dont understand the reasons why this is done, pls people get your knowledge first before critising.im 21 and still a virgin and i will keep going to the reed dance for as long as i can !!!
I love your site so much,can i ask for a favour,i need all the pics you have from the reed dance,i will really love to create an album for it.thank you,you and your friend look good in the african attire.