The Jericho African "Zionist" Church in Swaziland

Possibly the "Zionist" Native African church with the most colourful costumes, the Jericho Church was based in the homestead of its Head, Pastor Eliyasi Vilakati, in a village near Mankayane in the west of Swaziland. They wear red and blue robes and often gold coloured crowns, pitch helmets or very inventive headdresses of different materials. As in other African churches, their rituals seem to include practices that are also common to those performed by the traditional healers. There were blessings with holy staffs, water that was made holy that could be taken home, possession by the Holy Spirit instead of Ancestral Spirits.

At Easter the Jericho faithful would join the other "Zionist" churches in the Royal village of Lobamba for a three day ceremony where they would parade past the King in full costume; often the word "Jericho" was emblazoned on the sashes they were wearing, although this could also be spelled as "Jeriko" or even "Jeliko" (as an "r" doesn't occur in the siSwati language). They would sing and dance for those three days, an impressive and colourful sight.

	"Jericho" pastors	E. Vilakati (centre)	"Jericho" in Lobamba	"Jericho" faithful
	Church Elders	Singing and marching	"Jericho" dancing	Spirit possession
	Marching past	"Jericho" elder	Marching in Lobamba	"Jericho" procession

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