King gifts libutfo with ‘licembe’

MBABANE – Members of the regiment (libutfo) were all smiles yesterday at an an nouncement that there was a gift for them from His Majesty the .ing.

7he announcement was made by Indvuna Qomentanyeni Magagula under the instruction of His Majesty after the Monarch had delivered his address to disperse the regiment to mark the conclusion of harvesting of the king’s fields.

7he regiment gathered at 1gabez weni 5oyal 5esidence, where they were joined by the .ing who first carried out an inspection of the libutfo before going through traditional song and dance.

Also present were His Majesty’s guests from the Arab nations and they joined in song and dance where they stood out in their white traditional attire.

Having taken orders from the .ing,

Indvuna Qomentanyeni first appeared to give direction on how the regiment should salute His Majesty.

³7he shouting of Bayethe is only done by emabandla. For us libutfo, who carry shields, we do so through whistling,´ he said.

He then told the libutfo that the .ing had gifts for them.

“Majaha nive kahle, Ingwenyama

isinika kudla, licembe lenitohamba nalo nemphako; iyanipha (whis tling). Majaha Ingwenyama ininika licembe lenitawuhamba nalo, nemphako Inkhosi lenipha kona, lebonga ngako. Bayethe! (5eciprocated shouts of Bayethe plus whistling). Nive kahle Majaha, enkhosini nawulibutfo wekhuta Lwandle uphindze ushaye likhwela. (Libutfo shouts Bayethe Wena Waphakathi, then whistles),´ the Indvuna said, which when translated to mean ³5egiment, hear me properly. His Majesty the .ing has gifts for us in the form of µlicembe’ (leaf) that we will take home with us and also some food it’s a gift. 5egiment, the .ing is giving us µlicembe’(leaf) to take home, and food as a thank you gift. %ayethe Hear me properly regiment, when saluting the .ing you shout %ayethe and then whistle.´

Although there was no clarity given on what the µlicembe’ that the .ing gave to emajaha was, but belief is that it had to do with money.

DISBURSEMENT

In -anuary, when dispersing libutfo in the final leg of the Incwala Cere mony, His Majesty, through the same

Indvuna Qomentanyeni, announced the disbursement of E million to

libutfo.

7he money was shared both through cash and Mobile Money platforms, following the registration of libutfo

at the beginning of the ceremony last year.

7he .ing also gave the regiment food parcels containing kg beans, cooking oil and beef. His Majesty announced that cattle had been slaughtered for the different regiment.

7he .ing further condemned the be haviour of people who were creating division and further exhibiting violent behaviour such as the use of illegal firearms in the country.

He indicated that this year such acts would come to an end, stating that demons would be conquered.

7he .ing further urged emaSwati to participate in this year’s elections, stat ing that this would be quite a busy year.

Meanwhile, the .ing yesterday acknowledged the huge turnout by the libutfo throughout the past two weeks as they harvested the royal fields.

He said this showed that they still respected culture and tradition, which also displayed clearly that same was growing in leaps and bounds as even foreign nationals were participating.

³All these foreign visitors are here to encourage you. 1ever look down on yourselves because observing culture and tradition is important. Carrying out the harvesting using your hands

instead of machinery equipment is an observance of culture and tradition and is in way due to lack of such equip ment.

He said the big turnout was tes timony that emaSwati loved their culture and tradition and if they kept holding on to these they shall succeed as a nation. He also emphasised on the importance of respect and humility, which he said was key in keeping a nation together.

³:e thank *od and the ancestors for the work that went well. :e will now go back to our respective homes and communities to exhibit the same work ethic and spirit by harvesting our fields and storing the food to avoid hunger,´ the .ing said.

ENCOURAGED

His Majesty encouraged the nation to develop food sustenance methods to the extent that they would be able to even export.

³7he foreign visitors present here to day have come to see that we apply our culture and tradition in terms of food production and they will be exploring possibilities of buying the food from us,´ he said.

Adding, the .ing praised the libutfo for braving yesterday’s cold weather morning throughout the past weeks as they woke up to harvest the royal fields.

He then threw the gauntlet on the libutfo to ensure that the culture and tradition is passed on to the next gen eration.

(Pic: Mhlonishwa Motsa) His Majesty King Mswati III addressing to mark the end of season (tribute labour). His Majesty applauded the regiment for enduring the foul weather while weeding the fields.