The uMhlanga or Reed Dance in Swaziland

Every year in late August or early September Swazi girls from all over the country set out on foot to gather bundles of reed from places where these can be found and then come together in Lobamba, the Royal capital. They are young, unmarried girls, dressed in short "indlamu" beaded skirts. They often carry torches, indicating that they had to cut those reeds at night, and long knives that they used; those knives are also a symbol of their virginity. Hundreds of girls the gather in the "sibaya", the cattle byre that is used for ceremonies as well. They sing and dance and blow police whistles to the beat of the song, carrying long bundles of reed.

The ceremony is in a way a service to the "Ndlovukati" or Queen Mother and will be used to repair the windbreaks around the traditional huts in her compound. It may also be considered a way preparing your girls for married life, as they have to cooperate among themselves: tadtitionally the Swazis are polygamous. The different groups come together, sometimes a group of school girls led by their headmaster. At a certain point in the ceremony a long line of "bantfwabenkosi", the King's daughters files in. They are distinguished by the crown of bright red "ligwalagwala" feathers they wear in their hair: this may only be worn by Royalty.

The girls, led by the Princesses, walk with their reed bundles to a place where they throw them down and they dance, singing and blowing their whistles, groups after groups, young and old, a truly spectacular sight. They sing the song "Lelive lelakho, Nkosi!", (The country is yours, O King) and the King traditionally may select one of the maidens as another wife.

	Girls in Lobamba	Girls in "sibaya"	School group	Young girls
	Girls with reeds	Princesses arriving	Princesses and reeds	The Reed Dance
	Dancing girls	Girls singing	uMhlanga dancers	Small girls dancing

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