LOBAMBA, Swaziland—It's fast approaching dusk at the Ludzidzini Royal Compound when King Mswati III makes his long-awaited entrance. For hours, the royal stadium has been a spectacle of song and dance ...

THE Reed Dance — known as uMkhosi woMhlanga among the Zulu and uMhlanga in eSwatini — is not merely a spectacle. It is a living performance of cultural memory, moral instruction, and collective ...

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 ...

King Mswati with his new bride Swaziland’s leader King Mswati officially unveils his 14th virgin bride This follows a week long annual traditional event known as Umhlanga Annual Reed Dance The girls ...

Little wonder King Mswati III beams when he arrives – bare-chested, proudly carrying erect his golden ceremonial sword and surrounded by a bunch of beefy warriors armed with lethal-looking knobkerries ...

Eswatini's King Mswati III (C), South Africa's Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini (L) and former Botswana President Ian Khama (2nd R) arrive for the 2024 Umhlanga Reed ...

Last week, thousands of Zulu maidens descended on the eMashobeni Royal Palace in Pongola to take part in Umkhosi woMhlanga, the Reed Dance, which is one of South Africa’s most sacred and striking ...

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 ...

LUDZIDZINI ROYAL VILLAGE, Swaziland (Reuters) - Thousands of bare-breasted young Swazi women paraded in front of their king to celebrate chastity and unity, dismissing criticism of the lavish ceremony ...