Thousands of young women to dance for Swazi king

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© Kim Ludbrook, EPA(Swaziland) Thousands of young women were Monday preparing to sing and dance in honour of Africa's last absolute monarch, King Mswati III of Swaziland, located between South Africa and Mozambique.
The annual ceremony is known as Umhlanga or "reed dance," because the dancers first cut off reeds and carry them to the royal compound to strengthen the surrounding fence, reports dpa.
Trompets announce to thunderous applause the arrival of the king, wearing leopard skin and red feathers and surrounded by about 50 men in traditional attire.
"I'm happy to see the king," said Princess Pinky, 17, who had come to dance for the fourth time. And "it's great to get to know many other girls," she added.
About 8,000 dancers aged between 6 and 22 years - some of them wielding machetes - took part in a rehearsal on Sunday, but organizers said as many as 40,000 women and girls could participate.
The dancers known as "imbali" (flowers) are supposed to be virgins, though no tests are done to verify that.
Swaziland reed dance - © Kim Ludbrook, EPA
The 47-year-old king, who already has 14 wives, has the option of choosing one of them as a new spouse.
Meliswa Dlamini said she would not mind being chosen. "We like our king," the 15-year-old said. "Yes, princess, that would be great."
More than 60 dancers were killed in a road accident on their way to the ceremony on Friday, according to a monitoring group. Ignoring calls to cancel the dance, the authorities gave the number of fatalities as 13, but analysts said they might be downplaying it in order not to spoil the event.
The dance, which aims at promoting a traditional education for girls and virginity before marriage, has come under criticism over the dancers' toplessness and scanty attire.
Feminists say the dance turns women into objects in a country where they already have few rights.
"The young girls are actually going there to be seen and noticed," said Hlobsile Dlamini-Shongwe from the Swaziland Rural Women's Assembly.
Reed Dance ceremony in Mbabane - © Kim Ludbrook, EPA
Swazi women may not own land, and girls as young as 13 can be married off to older men whose polygamy or philandering is thought to have contributed to the country having the world's highest HIV infection rate, with nearly 28 per cent of residents aged between 15 and 49 carrying the virus, according to UNAIDS.
Critics also say the dance is used to promote a monarch whose lavish lifestyle - including a private jet and palaces for his different wives - is inappropriate in a country where 63 per cent of the 1.4-million population are classified as poor by the World Bank.
"Over the years, a lot of culture has changed and it has been politicized. Tradition is now being used to push a political agenda rather than a social and cultural," Dlamini-Shongwe said.
But the Umhlanga dance remains very popular as the main cultural event in the country.

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