By Agnieszka Flak and Helen Nyambura-Mwaura
LUDZIDZINI ROYAL VILLAGE, Swaziland, Sept 3 (Reuters) –
T housands of bare-breasted young Swazi women paraded in front of
their king to celebrate chastity and unity, dismissing criticism
of the lavish ceremony in one of Africa’s poorest countries for
its last absolute monarch.
Clad in beaded mini-skirts and clutching machetes and mobile
phones, women and girls as young as five danced and sang
tributes on Sunday and Monday to the king and queen mother, also
known as the Great She-Elephant, in a traditional Umhlanga Reed
Dance meant to celebrate womanhood and virginity.
“I’m proud to be Swazi and to be a virgin. We are here to
show unity with the king and with each other,” said 18-year-old
Gcebine Dlamini, bracing the cold of the southern hemisphere’s
winter in her skimpy outfit as scores of tourists had photos
taken next to the topless women.
King Mswati III, who has at least a dozen wives and a
personal fortune estimated at $200 million, faced unprecedented
protests last year when his appointed administration ran out of
money after a 2009 recession in neighbouring South Africa.
Despite the straitened times, the royal household has shown
few signs of wanting to tighten its belt. In July, South
Africa’s Mail and Guardian newspaper reported that three of
Mswati’s wives joined a 66-strong royal entourage heading to Las
Vegas on a shopping spree. There was no comment from the palace.
But women at the annual event gathered behind the monarch in
the week-long celebrations, even though police kept a close
watch on what they might tell journalists and tourists roaming
the grounds of the royal village, some 20 km (12 miles) outside
the capital.
In the past, the king has used the ceremony to choose a new
wife, and some girls still hoped to catch the king’s eye.
“If chosen, I would be able to live a better life than what
I have, have a lot of money, live a queen’s life and travel
overseas,” said Fakazile Dlamini, 14, who arrived on a lorry
from her village 60 km away to attend the ceremony.
New royal wives have often received a BMW and their own
palace, fuelling criticism in a country where more than
two-thirds of its 1.4 million people live in abject poverty.
Women’s groups and political opponents also say Mswati’s
penchant for multiple young brides ill befits a country with the
world’s highest rate of HIV/AIDS, but the monarch says polygamy
is part of Swazi tradition and helps cement national unity.
Maidens flocked in from across the country – some attend the
ceremony every year until they marry – cut reeds from river
beds, which they then presented to the queen mother in a
mile-long singing and foot-stamping procession.
In the past, they would have been accommodated by families
living close to the royal household but are now put up in camps
and protected by police from other men.
Even though the girls refuse to criticise UK-educated Mswati
who arrived at the event dressed in beads and lion cloth, not
everyone supported his polygamous lifestyle.
“I don’t want to be a queen, I don’t want to share my man.
Polygamy is not okay,” Siphesihle Mdluli, 20, who hopes to go on
to study medicine said while waving her bundle of reeds.
(Editing by Paul Casciato)
