This week marked Swaziland’s annual Dance of the Reeds, a 3-day festival in which 40-60 thousand young Swazi women in ‘traditional’ attire–annually known to the press as “bare-breasted virgins”–march, cut tall reeds from a lakeshore to make a wind break for the queen, and then on the third day dance before the king and whole lot of tourists. The king gives a speech about AIDS, and has the privilege every year of choosig one of the virgins to be his fiance, joining his 11 other wives and 1 other fiance.
Here’s one of the annual spate of stories in the world press:
Oddly unmentioned in most of the stories, however, is the very prominant role that machetes play in the ceremony.
The woman at front right is making sure that machete stays under close observation at all times.
For some reason, most of the wire service accounts tend to neglect this element in favor of the dance, the beaded skirts, the reeds, the virgins, and of course the thing that elevates this dreary piece of anthropology into ‘news’ in the first place: the bare breasts.
But to cut reeds, you need a great big knife. Who knew?
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Swaziland has been the African nation hardest hit by AIDS. For a few years the king even had to cancel the annual dance of the reeds. In a country in the midst of a plague, it seemed in poor taste. Luckily for the king’s marital prospects, however, he was struck by inspiration and relaunched it a few years later using the dancers’ virginity (whether genuine or theoretical) to convey the anti-AIDS message that girls should avoid sex until they’re old enough to marry.
So lemme get this straight: there’s all these half-naked virgins running out to cut your cane for you, and there’s no pipers in Swaziland? Are you kidding me?
This reminds me of a story. I don’t know if it’s true, perhaps someone else does.
I read somewhere that during World War II, General Eisenhauer was going to tour an area somewhere in Africa. This was announced a few days ahead so the local people could make preparations.
In one village, the women decided they would make Western style skirts to wear in honor of the General’s visit. They did this, but upon showing their new attire to the local missionary, he commented that they would need to cover their breasts. They said, “OK, we’ll do that.”
As the motorcade approached, everyone, including the village women dressed in their newly made Western style skirts, clamored to the roadside and lined up to greet the General as he drove past. In keeping with the missionary’s admonition about not exposing their breasts, as the motorcade passed, each woman solemnly raised the hem of her skirt and covered her breasts with it.
