February 16, 2005
Worse than Mugabe?
Half the people in tiny Swaziland are unemployed, and approximately 40% of the population is HIV-positive. But the king certainly has his priorities straight:
There will be 10 cars and, according to the critics, each one is a German "sculpture in metal". All are BMWs, from the top of the latest "5" range.
The sumptuous vehicles will arrive in Swaziland, one of the poorest countries in the world, next week. With an appropriate fanfare, they will then be driven past a disbelieving populace. Bought for the 10 wives of King Mswati II, they are the latest purchases of the continent's last absolute monarch, the most fecklessly self-indulgent in the world.
When you are king of Swaziland, finding a new wife is not hard, although keeping them happy may require the odd outlandish expenditure.
The passing of each summer in the capital of Mbabane is marked by the Umhlanga, or reed dance. At that point, young virgins are summoned from all over the country to participate in a five-day festival held, naturally, in honour of the King.
Dressed in short, beaded skirts decorated with bright fringes and buttons together with anklets, bracelets and necklaces, and colourful sashes, the bare-breasted girls, some as young as nine or ten, dance for the monarch.
Giving the dance its name, the young maidens gather reeds from specially designated areas. Each sash has appendages of different coloured wool streamers that denote whether or not the maiden is betrothed. Each group has their own dance step or song to mark their respect for the monarch and his mother. Tradition dictates that Mswati's only task is to sit back, enjoy the show, and pick a new child bride.
Dissent is not tolerated in Swaziland, to say the least, but the purchase of ten news BMWs may be what finally brings the people into the streets to overthrow this guy. Here's hoping.
Posted by damian at February 16, 2005 08:33 AM