INCWALA CEREMONY HAS SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE

WE have entered a very important time in the annual calendar of emaSwati. It is also a time when we receive many tourists, and some might want to know more about this ceremony. Incwala is the Kingship’s first fruit ritual. This is a national event that takes place during the summer solstice (when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, and this is the longest day of the year). The focus at Incwala is His Majesty King Mswati III; when there is no King, there is no Incwala. The Ndwandwe clan leads the ceremony.

Bemanti

The Incwala ritual is controlled by traditional Ndwandwe ‘priests’ known as Bemanti (people of the water) or Belwandle (people of the sea) because they fetch river and sea water to strengthen the King and the monarchy for the coming year. In the earliest stage, the Bemanti set out with sacred vessels (sigubhu) to the sea, a little south of Maputo in neighbouring Mozambique, and another group to the rivers Lusutfu, Komanzi and Mbuluzi. The departure is a festive occasion. When the Bemanti meet any liSwati on the journey, they ‘pillage’ (kuhlamahlama) the countryside and take any traditional beer they find in the huts and homesteads.

They impose very light fines: A pin, grass bracelet, small coin, or other trifle that has been in contact with the person can be offered. Any tendency to exact exorbitant fines is discouraged. Wherever they go, the Bemanti are treated with the utmost respect. At each home where they sleep, a beast is slaughtered, and the tail is tied around the vessel. To emaSwati who live in outlying districts, their visit is a sign that the Incwala is close at hand, and chiefs of that area often give money and ensure that the Bemanti receive large bowls of traditional beer since they are eager to help ‘support the work of Kings’.

Little Incwala

In this event, the Bemanti came to Ludzidzini, the royal capital. The King and the Bemanti meet in the cattle byre. Special traditional beer is brewed in the Queen Mother’s enclosure and the royal residence (sigodlo), and they carry it out to the leaders. The regiments present wear semi-Incwala dresses; the graceful cloaks of cattle tails hang (sigetja) from the shoulders to the waist, flowing tails are tied to the right arms, white feathers, and magnificent black plumes shine in their hair, and their loin coverings (emajobo) are of leopard skin (umdada).

The costume resembles a wardress, but at the Little Incwala, men may only carry plain sticks (imizaca, umzaca singular) instead of spears and clubs (tagila) (although these are occasionally concealed behind their shields). The veterans slowly sing the first of the sacred songs. The women come through the upper entrance of the cattle byre to join in the singing and dancing. Emakhosikati (the wives of the King) stand in order of seniority in the front row opposite the regiments.

They flaunt new shawls and newly blackened skirts (tidziya plural). Behind them is Her Majesty Indlovukazi, the Queen Mother with her retainers, and the Emakhosikati (co-wives of the late King). The sacred songs of the Little Incwala are followed by several solemn songs known as imigubho, which are rich in historical spiritual significance and moral precepts.
The singing of incaba kancofula, the traditional national spiritual anthem of emaSwati, marks the end. An interim period follows for about 15 days in different royal residences and imiphakatsi around the country where Incwala songs are sung.

Lusekwane for the young men

The lusekwane marks the beginning of the big Incwala. This is where young men fetch the lusekwane, the sacred tree. The lusekwane is a species of acacia that is thorny. Indeed, emaSwati say the tree was made expressly to distinguish the ‘impure’ from the ‘pure’; a distinction that is drawn between men ‘who have spent their strength in children or have intrigued with married women and youths who, though they have had love affairs, have not made any woman pregnant’. The sacred shrubs are used to build a sacred enclosure for the main event of the Kingship.

The lusekwane is cut at night in the presence of the moon and brought back in the morning to the royal capital. After the return of the young warriors, they collect imbondvo, the leaves of a shrub that grows near the capital. The sacred enclosure (inhlambelo) is built with the lusekwane and the imbondvo at the bottom. This day is marked especially by the fighting of the bull called ‘umdvutjulwa’. The beast must be caught by the hands of the youths who fetched the sacred tree. Royal councilors drive it along with the other beasts to make it tractable through the narrow doorway of the inhlambelo, and all the other animals come out after a few seconds. The ‘pure’ stand tense, ready to pounce as the umdvutshulwa emerges and pummel it with their strong young fists. To throw the bull with naked hands is a trial of strength and a test of purity.

Big Incwala

The warriors attend in full Incwala dress. On this day, the King appears in all his splendour. Only sacred Incwala songs are sung on this day. Two songs are heard at once: The lullaby song of the boys as they drive the incwambo (parts of the umdvutjulwa) into the inhlambelo and a chant of hate from the men and women. By now, the King is sufficiently strong to bite (luma) the most powerful of the new season’s crops, and after that, his people can perform their own ‘first fruits’ ritual.

On this day, he is Silo, a nameless creature, a monster of legends. The following day is a day of kubhacisa. There is a restriction on what people can do on this day, and the King remains secluded in the sacred enclosure. The regiments cannot shake hands or engage in sexual activities. The King can only see the ritual wives during this time. The final day of Incwala is a day of purification where all material no longer needed is burnt. Among these are remains of the umdvutjulwa, the previous year’s gourd (luselwa), utensils, and fines collected by Bemanti during kuhlamahlama. Warriors and women enter the cattle byre and sing and dance only the imigubho as all Incwala songs are now closed. As the people dance, they ‘know’ that rain must fall to quench the flames.

No matter how heavy the storm, the people do not seek shelter until, drenched to the bone, they finally round off the performance with the incaba kancofula.
The last day of the Incwala ends with feasting and revelry. The last service that remains to be performed is the weeding of the royal fields. septembereswatini@gmail.com

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