SWAZI CULTURE
TRADITIONAL dancing, singing and praise-singing are prominent in Swazi culture.
Pottery and carving are also part of their culture.
All Swazis belong to the Nguni clan.
A Swazi marriage is called “umtsimba” and weddings are usually held on a weekend.
The bride and her relatives go to the groom’s homestead on the Friday evening ahead of the wedding.
The next morning, the bridal party visits a nearby river, and eat the breast portion of a goat or a cow slaughtered the day before, which is offered by the groom’s family.
Nonkululeko Dlamini, a married Swazi woman, said: “On the Sunday morning, the bride, with her female relatives, stabs the ground with a spear in the man’s cattle kraal. Later she is smeared with red ochre.”
Afterwards, the bride presents gifts to her husband and his relatives, she said.
As in the Zulu culture, the reed dance ceremony in Swaziland is a big cultural event.
The event is attended by young unmarried girls.