Photos from Our World

SWAZILAND

The uMcwasho Ceremony in Swaziland (Part 1)

In Swaziland boys are organised in age-groups that form the basis of the traditional warrior regiments. A similar thing sometimes happens with unmarried girls who join together under the patronage of a princess or chief's daughter and wear the "umcwasho" (also spelled "umchwasho") uniform, colourful tassels indicating their status: the younger girls who may not yet have a boyfriend wear blue and yellow woollen tassels, tied to a string of beads around their head while the older ones who may have a one wear read and black. This is basically a chastity rite and during this time, that may last a number of years, they have to obey special laws regarding clothing, food, morals and behaviour: they may have no physical contact with boys and any boy who violates this has to pay a fine, traditionally a cow. If he refuses, the girls come together in a group, march, singing and dancing, to his house, dance around it and hang their "umcwasho" tassels on the door to mock him so everyone can see who the culprit is.

At the end of this period a colourful ceremony is held in which they discard their woollen tassels. Held in late August, this ceremony may be held instead of the "uMhlanga" or Reed Dance that is usually held around this time. The girls come together in the Royal residence of Lobamba and, early in the morning, they throw down their tassels in a big pile. Old women retrieve the beads from the strings that were used to tie the umcwasho to their heads and then the whole pile is set ablaze: the girls are now free again: those who had been wearing blue and yellow may now have a boyfriend and those who had red and black may marry or change boyfriends!

After the girls have bathed in the river and prepared themselves in their traditional finery, wearing the short "indlamu" skirt, necklaces and colourful sashes, they march, singing and dancing as they go along, towards Somhlolo national Stadium on the other side of the highway; all traffic has to stop until the hundreds of girls have crossed the road. They continue dancing in their groups on the grounds near the stadium until it is time for them to enter....

Continuing....

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Traditional wedding	Girls dancing	Discarded tassels	Collecting beads
Girls marching	Girls in "indlamu"	Crossing the road	uMcwasho dance
Young girls	Groups dance	Girls dance	Girls celebrating