uMhlanga (Reed Ceremony), Swaziland 1973

"Every year at the end of August girls march from the Royal Kraal of Lobamba to Mdutshane to cut reeds to repair the enclosures around the Queen mother's residence, after which the large Reed Dance follows". These scenes were recorded with an old 8 mm camera (without sound) in 1973; sound, including my commentary, was added later from tape recordings I had made in previous years and later filmed from a screen with an analogue video camera. The image and sound quality is therefore poor for which I apologise. The opening scenes are in my native Dutch (translated above). For (better quality) photos I took there go to http://worldpics.com.au/Africa/Swaziland/.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Swaziland
• Africa
• tradition
• ceremony
• girls
• dance
• culture
• cultural
• dancing