King Mswati: Bride or bane?

Ludzidzini Royal Village (Swaziland), Aug. 29 (Reuters): More than 50,000 bare-breasted virgins, many hoping to be the Swazi king’s 13th bride, gathered today for an ancient rite critics say ill befits a country with the world’s highest HIV/AIDS rate.

King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, is due to attend the annual Reed Dance ceremony, which he has used since 1999 to pluck new brides from thousands of dancing girls dressed in little more than beads and traditional skirts.

Critics say Mswati, who has courted controversy for his lavish lifestyle while two thirds of his subjects live in abject poverty, sets a bad example by encouraging polygamy and teenage sex in a country where 40 per cent of adults live with HIV.

And some say the Reed Dance, traditionally meant to celebrate womanhood and virginity, has become little more than a showcase for the king’s young would-be brides.

“The Reed Dance has been abused for one man’s personal satisfaction,” Mario Masuku, leader of the banned opposition party, said. “The King has a passion for young women and opulence.”

But many Swazis say the young monarch has a right to do as he pleases, defending his penchant for young brides as Swazi tradition and arguing ceremonies like the Reed Dance, which this year drew a record 50,000 maidens, cement national identity.

“This is Swazi tradition ?you just have to look at all the girls dancing to see that they are happy to do this,” said Sam Mkhombe, the king’s private secretary.

After a week of preparations, the girls, some swathed in cloth bearing the king’s image, streamed into the royal compound yesterday with towering reeds gathered to present to the Queen Mother, who is also known as the “Great She-Elephant”.

Today’s ceremony before the king is the finale.

This year’s event also included the lifting of a royal ban on sex with virgins, decreed in 2001 to help rein in HIV.