‘UMHLANGA A BORROWED CULTURE’

LOBAMBA – The country’s revered cultural event, the reed dance ceremony, known as Umhlanga, was borrowed from the Kingdom of the Ndwandwes under King Zwide.

Lethumusa Simelane, a historian and archivist based at the Swaziland National Archives in Lobamba, revealed that Queen Mother Tsandzile Ndwandwe introduced the culture to the Swazis.
Tsandzile was the wife of King Somhlolo, also known as Sobhuza II.

However, Home Affairs Minister Princess Tsandzile differs with Simelane and argues that the reed dance was purely a culture of the Swazis.
The minister said it was the incwala ceremony that was copied from other clans who are now part of the Swazi people.
“I think they are mixing up some facts on Incwala and Umhlanga,” the minister said.

Ironically, Princess Tsandzile worked for the Swaziland National Archives before she was appointed into parliament in 2003.
She is an archivist and has a Master’s Degree in Archives Administration from India and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Meanwhile Simelane, a well-respected historian, said bemdzabu, the real Swazis who were led by the Dlaminis, adopted the Ndwandwe culture and clung onto it till today.
This year, approximately 100 000 girls are said to have registered with traditional authorities at Ludzidzini Royal Residence to cut the reed to make windbreakers for the Queen Mother’s huts.
The week-long event ended on Monday, August 29, 2016, which was a holiday in the country.
Simelane said the Reed Dance, as a matter of fact, was part of the country’s Incwala ceremony and marked its beginning.
Incwala, the country’s most sacred ceremony, is usually held between December and early January.

Simelane, who usually teaches pupils touring the place of Swazi history, said the reed dance ceremony was celebrated for two reasons – (1) pleading with God and ancestors to bring rain and (2) abundant food.
He said since it normally rains in mid-August, September, October and November, there was usually plenty of food during the Incwala ceremony.

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