Photos from Our World

King's Birthday Celebrations in Swaziland

The Birthday of His Majesty King Sobhuza II of Swaziland was celebrated each year in a different part of the country. The photos on this page show the festivities as they took place in Ntonjeni, in the west of the country, and in Mangwaneni, a small Royal village near Mbabane.

The celebrations always brought large groups of traditional Swazi regiments ("emabutfo") together, who would sing while marching past. There were also members of the then latest regiment, named Gcina; these would, however, not be in traditional apparel but looked more like a group of scouts in their uniforms, carrying Swaziland flags. The Gcina youngsters were in fact taught better farming methods by a group of Israeli experts at the time.

The King would stand on the Royal dais while the National Anthem was being played and he would salute the warriors as they filed past. On the occasion of his Birthday he woudl be dressed in the uniform of Chief Inspector of the Royal Swaziland Police, flanked by the Commissioner.

The celebrations in Mangwaneni did not bring the King himself but here too were lots of people performing their traditions. Old men prepared themselves in front of their regimental huts ("emalawu", plural of "lilawu") and women had their hair done in the traditional beehive style of married women. The Swazi regiments would march and sing and perform the slow warriors dances like the "iNqaba kaNqofula".

	Swazi regiments	Traditional warriors	Scouts with flags	Princesses
	On the Royal dais	Salute by the King	Men in "lilawu"	Singing warrior
	Mangwaneni store	Women grooming	Preparing tobacco	Regiments marching

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