LUDZDZINI: The first stage of the Kingdom’s signature cultural event, Incwala has started. National leaders, mostly chiefs, members of the royal family and royal courtiers are increasingly flocking to the nation’s cultural capital, Ludzidzini to join in an afternoon of humming ancient traditional songs and lullabays.
The ceremony that will climax in the symbolic tasting asting of the new fruit of the year, is annually initiated at the homestead of the Queen Mother, lionised in national culture as the Ndlovukati (Mother Elephant). She is the mother of the King, lionized as the Ngwenyama or Lion.
The King normally goes into seclusion and is forbidden from undertaking any serious duties well before the preliminary stages of the Incwala begins.
Also see https://today.co.sz/2024/11/06/incwala-2024-ceremony-process-has-started/
The early stages of the begin during the first quarter of the moon, and grows as more people – both men and women join. The genders, inside the ceremonial cattle byre dance in separate groups. The men, wearing shawls of cow tails and leopard skin skirts dance facing West and the women a distance in front of the men, facing East, wear the usual customary dress of black skirts, sarongs and goat skin aprons. The dress code will change as the ceremony approaches its climax at full moon when young boys are despatched to cut a sacred shrub for the construction of a ceremonial enclosure. Part of the duty of the young boys is to prove their valour by subduing a full grown bull.
Also see https://today.co.sz/2024/09/29/when-the-virgin-maidens-come-out-dancing/.
The Incwala is less a spectator event as the Umhlanga Reed dance of virgin maidens celebrated in Spring is. Emphasis is on everyone participating. The majority of the Swazi population is now resident in neighbouring South Africa following colonial borders set by the British that shaved off almost 80% of the Kingdom’s territory to the Republic. Many of them return specifically to join in Incwala.
Though a national spiritual event, Eswatini is a multi-cultural society and other nationalities are increasingly joining in to celebrate the ceremony.
jm/today/3.12.2024
