Zulu king is crowned

 Stanley - Thursday

A year ago last March, King Goodwill Zwelithini of the Zulu nation died after spending just over fifty years on the throne. He was well respected, not only in his own right, but also as a descendent of the great King Cetshwayo kaMpande, who defeated the British forces at Isandhlwana in 1879.

King Goodwill Zwelithini in ceremonial attire

The king's "Amabutho" warriors in traditional leopard skin regalia

Last Saturday, the new king, Misuzulu ka Zwelithini, was crowned with great pomp and ceremony and not a little controversy.

It is hardly surprising that there were other contenders to the throne since Goodwill had six wives and twenty-eight children. In terms of hierarchy, Goodwill's third wife, the late Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu, was on top of the pecking order since she also hailed from royalty. Her father was the late King Sobhuza II of Eswatini (Swaziland to those who struggle to keep up with the ever-changing map of Africa) and her brother, King Mswati III, is the reigning king of Eswatini.

Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu

When King Goodwill Zwelithini died, Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu was appointed regent for the three months of mourning, after which the next king would be chosen. However, she died only a month later midst allegations of poisoning.

The battle for the throne has been raging for the past year, with several of King Misuzulu's brothers and half brothers claiming the throne. 

Last November, for example, the king's first-born son, Prince Lethukuthula, died in mysterious circumstances. The police believe his death to be a homicide.

However, in March this year, President Ramaphosa of South Africa formally recognised Misuzulu as the rightful heir to the throne. 

One brother immediately challenged this in court, but this was dismissed.

Then, just a week before Misuzulu's traditional coronation, a small group within the royal family announced that another one of Misuzulu's half-brothers was the new king. That went nowhere.

Then three of Misuzulu's brothers announced that another brother should be the king because he had had the closest relationship with the late king. A no go also.

And finally, on the day of the coronation, two of Misuzulu's half-sisters file a motion in court to halt the coronation because they claimed that Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu's will had been forged. Not successful.

Apparently part of the original marriage contract beween Goodwill Zwelithini and Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu stipulated that her first born would be the heir to the throne. Her will also stipulated that this agreement be honoured.

Anyway, to some extent the dust has settled, and I'm pleased to report that Misuzulu is now King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini and will be formally crowned in September. 

The new king

Last week's ceremony was the traditional investiture where thousands of people gathered at KwaKhangelamankengane Palace. There he invoked the ancestors before being announced as the new king to both the living and the dead.

Celebrating

Celebrating

Celebrating

King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini will be forty-eight next month. He was educated in South Africa, then Jacksonville University in the United States. He is married with two wives and three sons. 

Long live the king.

Umhlanga – the reed dance

Swaziland is a small kingdom enclosed between South Africa and Mozambique. That’s correct: a kingdom.  And we’re not talking about a constitutional monarchy here but a king who actually rules.  The odd part is that on the whole the local people seem pretty happy with the arrangement.  Unlike the middle-east, there has been no Swaziland “spring”.  Not that King Mswati III is exactly a paragon of virtue.  He enjoys luxury, owns some automobiles that he won’t let press reporters photograph because of their opulence, and has a small harem of wives.  But he has to share power with the Queen Mother, and can’t choose his heir.  The heir and the first two wives are chosen by a committee of councellors. Surprisingly, in the twenty-first century, it’s a system that seems to more or less work.

King Mswati III

Which brings us to this week’s big event – the Umhlanga. An impressive traditional rite of spring. (Swaziland does have a “spring” after all!) It’s a week-long affair and it has become a big tourist attraction. Perhaps Swaziland’s major tourist attraction. It involves all the unmarried girls in the kingdom who have not had children and this year the estimate is that sixty thousand will choose to take part.

The schedule is something like this:

The royal family appoints a commoner maiden to be "induna" (captain) of the girls and she announces over the radio the dates of the ceremony, which are determined by the phase of the moon. She will be an expert dancer and knowledgeable on royal protocol. One of the King's daughters will be her counterpart.

On the first day the girls gather at the Queen Mothers royal village in groups from the 200 or so chiefdoms.  The next day the girls divide into two groups, the older (about 14 to 22 years) and the younger (about 8 to 13). In the afternoon, they march in their local groups to the reed-beds. The girls reach the vicinity of the reeds in darkness, and sleep in government-provided tents. Formerly the local people would have accommodated them in their villages. On the third day the girls cut their reeds, usually about ten to twenty, using long knives. Each girl ties her reeds into one bundle. Nowadays they use strips of plastic bags for the tying, although in the old days they would plait grass into rope.  The following day the girls return to the Queen Mothers village, carrying their bundles of reeds. They arrive at night to indicate the long distance they have travelled to obtain the best reeds.

After a day to make their costumes and prepare their hair, the girls dance and sing all afternoon for the Queen Mother.  And on the next day they sing and dance again, this time with the King in attendance.  If the mood takes him, he may take the opportunity to choose a new wife.

It’s a formal affair.  Visitors are welcome, but must be appropriately attired.  Women are expected to wear dresses and – unlike the dancers – modest tops.  If you decide to attend, no photographs, please. The King has not been impressed with some of the internet displays around the event.

Michael - Thursday