The dates of Swaziland’s most anticipated cultural event have finally been announced. A hive of colourful activity will decent upon the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland as ‘Umhlanga’ or the Annual Reed Dance Festival begins.
The festival this year will take place from August 26th, with the main day of the event (day 7) to happen on September 1st. It’s on this day when the main ceremony occurs, with the dancing attended by the King signalling a public holiday in Swaziland.
This ceremony is a centuries old tradition where the Kingdom’s unmarried and childless females present their newly cut reed to the Queen Mother to protect her residence. The King sometimes makes use of the occasion to publicly court a prospective fiancée or Liphovela.