Swaziland is an African state where the current monarch Mswati III changes his wife every year, a quarter of the population is infected with HIV, and naked virgins march through the city of Lobamba - also for the sake of the king. Correspondent Olga Rastegaeva went to the visa-free Swaziland for Russians to see everything with her own eyes.
Swaziland is an open-air museum of ethnography. Civilization makes its way through the bush of the Swazi land slowly, clawing at unshakable traditions, conventional wisdom and poverty. In the villages, many still live on subsistence farming, wearing traditional clothing and sleeping in makeshift huts.
Swaziland is the only state in Africa with an absolute monarchy, where, despite the absence of political parties, parliament meets. The country is, in principle, Christian, everyone goes to church on Sundays, but they believe in the spirits of their ancestors and practice polygamy.
Where is this anyway?
Cartography knows a lot of precedents when dwarf states on maps were squeezed between giant countries. The Swazi land is just such a case. She squeezed into the Veld plateau between South Africa and Mozambique. From Johannesburg to the capital of Swaziland Mbabane is only four hours by car, from Maputo - two. There is no exit to the ocean, but there is a ridge of the Dragon Mountains and picturesque valleys, where pineapples ripen all year round. In terms of size, Swaziland is the smallest state in the Southern Hemisphere, with a population of just over a million people.
How do they live there?
They don't live very well. Swaziland is considered one of the poorest countries in the world, with more than half of its citizens living on less than two dollars a day. In addition, Swaziland is known for the fact that a quarter of the population is infected with the immunodeficiency virus. Finding a job is almost impossible, the level of education is low. Only seven classes are free, you have to pay for further studies. Most of the money for this, of course, does not.
The society is very traditional. So, at the time of marriage, the groom is supposed to give the bride's parents 17 cows. With the current exchange rate of cows to lilangeni (local currency, they give about 13 lilangeni for a dollar) it is expensive. You have to save up for years. Poor families do not agree to give their daughters in marriage without ransom, cows are still the main commodity in the country. In the villages, they still live separately - women on their territory, men on theirs. Women are strictly forbidden to appear behind a man's hedge. Also, wives traditionally yield the best food to their spouses. And husbands give way to work - all household chores are on women's shoulders.
Are there evil crocodiles and other animals in Swaziland?
Like all countries in South Africa, Swaziland can offer an excellent safari, although all representatives of the big five - leopard, buffalo, lion, elephant and rhinoceros cannot be found in one park at once. Herds of giraffes, zebras and other ungulates roam just an hour's drive from Manzini (the largest city in the country) in the Mbuluzi Game Reserve. Watch the unhurried life of white and black rhinos in the Mkhaya Game Reserve, founded by nature lover Irish expat Ted Reilly, who has single-handedly rescued rhinos for many decades.
A luxury day safari with crocodiles, hippos, nyalas, kudu and zebras is offered by the private Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, also owned by Railay. In the park, you can go on a hiking or horse safari.
The largest national park in Swaziland is Hlane, previously this area was closed and was intended for royal hunting. (Hlane Royal National Park Swaziland). In Khlana, a photo hunt for elephants, lions and, if you're lucky, leopards will be held with a bang. Lovers of ornithology will appear on the identification of more than 300 species of birds. Chlana also has a large population of hippos and crocodiles.
In Swaziland, the king chooses a new wife every year, right?
Yes, the main celebration of the country takes place at the very end of August - early September. Young girls from all over the country come to Lobambu, the city where the residence of the Queen Mother, which bears the title of "Big Elephant", to take part in the massive Umhlanga festival.
This is such a Swazi-style May Day, during which 80 thousand naked participants in columns dance to the rhythms of drums to pay tribute to the country's monarchs. For several days they prepare for the "dance of the reeds" - they wash, dress up and cut the reeds with their own hands, from which they then make a new fence for the royal palace.
Tens of thousands of naked virgins, dressed only in a cape of light fabric with the image of a king, holding reed stalks in their hands, dance and sing in front of the monarch Mswati III. The repertoire is about twenty songs. It is believed that during Umhlanga, the king chooses a new wife for himself.
In fact, this is not the case. For the entire time of the reed dances, the current king saw only two future wives in the crowd. Whether the monarch chose a new wife for himself at the next holiday, the public is informed only three weeks after the end of the celebrations.
Who is taking part in the "dance of the reed"?
Everyone comes to the main dance of the country. Before embarking on a long journey across the country to Lobamba, the girls must register with the leader of their village. According to the rules, all participants must be virgins. In practice, this is not verified in any way. In Swaziland, it is believed that if a young woman has no children, then she is innocent. Girls of any age are allowed to dance in front of the king: both teenagers and adults are marching in bright lines. In Swaziland, every woman has danced before the king at least once. In honor of the holiday, His Majesty will certainly dress in the skin of a leopard.
The girls are brought to the ceremony on special buses, but many have to walk half a day to the collection point. The virgins live in large barracks near the stadium where the event is held. All eighty thousand beauties during the holiday are in the care of the king, they are fed and watered at the expense of the state treasury.
Do all girls in Swaziland dream of becoming the king's wife?
King Mswati III is young and rich. His fortune is estimated at more than $ 100 million. He is handsome and educated. But the chances of becoming another wife, albeit not the only one, are negligible. Mswati III now has sixteen wives and more than twenty children. His father Sobkhuza II was married 90 times, he has 260 children and more than a thousand grandchildren.
Seven years of education is enough to understand: it is not so easy to become a happy and beloved wife, and the chances of giving birth to an heir to the crown are negligible. Only the only son of one of the wives can lay claim to the royal throne. The king's wife should not have more children. But, as practice shows, as a result of intrigues and palace coups, several brothers-candidates are always fighting for power. All wives receive a palace as a gift - a large house or villa with a staff of servants, as well as a car. Everything is paid from the treasury of the kingdom. The house of the king's wife is guarded, and she can only sit by the window and wait for the monarch to make her happy with his visit. Especially beloved wives can sometimes fly to London for shopping.
In addition, the king's wife under no circumstances has the right to remarry, even if the ruler went to the forefathers. Life in a golden cage is not to everyone's liking. The current monarch has already been instructed by three wives. All of them are exiled for life to the Queen Mother in the palace, and their lovers languish in prisons. One of the brides is still hiding in London, not wanting to marry of convenience, even to the king.
What else to do in Swaziland?
Climb the second highest granite mountain in the world, Sibebe... Above - only in Australia. This monolith is very ancient, about three billion years old. The mountain is located just 10 kilometers from the capital Mbabane, and unlike the summit on another continent, it does not suffer from the invasion of tourists. The summit of Sibebe is easily conquered even by untrained tourists, the hike will take about 4 hours.
Immerse yourself in folklore... Admiring traditional Swazi dances, with songs, whistles, drums, is best from the front rows. All you need to do is visit the Mantenga Cultural Village in Mantenga Falls Nature Reserve. Even if you are not versed in African choreography, you will still notice the main difference between Swazi dances and other tribes - sharp kicks. Both men and women dance this way. After the show, the guests are guided through the reconstructed village.
Seventy thousand naked virgins in one stadium! To see this, I am ready to fly to the ends of the world. Which is what I am doing now, falling into terrible air pockets on a flimsy twin-engine airplane, reminiscent of a crowded Moscow minibus. The flight from Johannesburg to Mazzini is the last one on my 27-hour journey from Moscow to the capital of Swaziland. A sharp descent, rather similar to a dive, several jumps along the runway, strained roar of engines - and we are in place. A dozen passengers and a plump stewardess, wiping sweat from their forehead, slowly make their way to the exit. Here it is, the end of the world - Swaziland!
The lion king
Swaziland is a tiny (three times smaller than the Moscow region) state, sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique. Having received independence in 1968, and with it a completely worthy constitution from Great Britain, Swaziland remained a parliamentary republic until 1977. Then the parliamentary system was eliminated, political parties were banned, and the country became one of the few absolute monarchies on earth. A couple of years later, parliamentary elections were resumed - but for a real African parliament: each new deputy takes a rather primitive oath, swears allegiance and loyalty to the king and his heirs. And there are many heirs.
The number of wives in Swaziland is not limited - everything is determined by the financial situation of the husband. On average, “on the market” a wife costs a dozen cows: younger and more beautiful - more expensive, older - cheaper. So the wealthy Swazilands (though there are not many of them here) have dozens of wives. But most of them, naturally, belonged to the king: the previous one, Sobuza II, had 70 wives and over 200 heirs. At least four hundred more children were born from ordinary Swaziland girls - who would refuse the monarch, since even an ordinary African the Swaziland beauty is ready to surrender for a bag of chips. Considering that all relatives up to the third generation are considered heirs by law, it is easy to understand why the most common surname in the kingdom is Dlamini. And all carriers of this surname automatically receive the prefix "prince" or "princess". A simple guide meets you, extends his hand: “Dlamini. Prince".
Only the official wives of the king can afford not to work at all. The current forty-year-old Mswati III has only 14 wives and only 23 children so far. However, he does not stop there, increasing the harem by one unit every year. And he does it as openly as possible, choosing a new wife at the annual Reed Festival or, as it is also called, the Festival of Purity. All (!) Virgins of the kingdom gather at the stadium next to the royal residence, and the king, with a huge crowd of onlookers, makes his choice. There is no such thing anywhere else in the world. Actually, for the sake of this spectacle, we flew half the planet.
African virginity
Young African women see nothing humiliating in this ritual. Moreover, the Reed Festival in Swaziland is about the same as our New Year's - the main event of the year. Still, all virgins are fed free of charge for a whole week at the expense of the treasury, which for Africans already means a holiday. All over the country, girls gather in administrative centers, from where they are taken by trucks to makeshift camps near the palace: huge tents are set up in an open field and large fires are made.
The first few days are spent harvesting the cane. For what? One of the most prestigious things in Swaziland is the reed fence around the residence, which only the king and his mother can afford. However, such a fence is a short-lived thing, and according to tradition, it is broken before the Reed Festival. Each girl cuts off several multi-meter reeds and brings them to her king, from which a new fence is erected. Agree, not too much payment for the week of the holiday and participation in the lottery "become the next queen." Therefore, everyone wants to participate.
How the choice is made - no one knows, outsiders are not allowed. Only the king and 70,000 virgins. It is only known that Mswati III gave his next wife a BMW X6 and promised to build a new palace.The Europeans, of course, are interested in how all these 70,000 applicants are checked. But in no way. The attitude to the issue in Swaziland is quite free - the girl considers herself a virgin, which means she is a virgin. There is even such a thing as secondary virginity. No, no plastic surgery is performed to restore virginity in Swaziland. It is enough for a girl to come to the priest, express her readiness for further abstinence, listen to a short gospel - that's, in fact, all. So how many of these 70,000 African virgins are virgins in the European sense - no one knows. In addition, more than one thousand local youths gather around the camp in search of adventure, and, as a rule, they do not remain without these very adventures.
Few tourists, despite all the wealth of choice, do not go on adventures - according to official statistics, 44 percent of pregnant women have AIDS. But there is still hepatitis and a bunch of purely African misfortunes. By the way, a few years ago Mswati III decided to fight AIDS in his own way and banned all virgins from having sex for five years. Each girl received a loincloth with an identification brown tassel. For deprivation of innocence, the offender was entitled to a fine: $ 170 or one cow.
Oddly enough, in this country of free morals, the ban was more or less respected until a scandal erupted - the king chose another virgin, and a minor, for himself. The rest of the applicants murmured and pelted the palace with their tassels. Even the speaker of parliament criticized the monarch, for which he immediately paid, having received an SMS notification of his resignation from Mswati III (by the way, the world's first resignation via SMS). The king, as befits a king, turned out to be harsh, but just: he went out to the balcony of his palace, admitted a mistake, awarded himself a fine of one cow (which was immediately roasted on a spit and eaten by the joyful Swazilands), and at the same time canceled the decree on abstinence ...
Virgin parade
A reed fence, of course, is interesting, but onlookers from Swaziland and from all over the world gathered for a completely different spectacle - a parade of virgins. In the morning, the stadium begins to fill up with spectators, invited guests, the police, and finally, a company of honor guards enters the field, approaching the battalion in numbers.
The king appeared to his subjects, protruding waist-deep from the hatch of a black BMW X5, with an oxtail wrapped around their torso and wearing a leopard-skin cloak. However, it was hot in the skin, and the monarch quickly threw it off, remaining in one brown skirt. Several red feathers in short hair completed the image of Mswati III, like two drops of water similar to their images on banknotes and coins of the kingdom.
Having slowly circled the entire stadium along the treadmill, the motorcade slowed down near the throne, and the king sat on it. The neighboring throne was taken by his mother, who is supposed to be treated with respect only as the Elephant Mother. Behind the back, a whole row was occupied by royal wives, who were distinguished from half-naked applicants only by hairstyles in the European manner. And so the show began.
What's the opening of the Olympics! Imagine a May Day parade, but instead of columns of workers from factories and factories, to the beat of ritual drums, columns of virgins march from different schools, institutions, districts and God knows what formations. Seventy thousand!
As the stadium filled up, the spectacle less and less resembled a parade and more and more some kind of orgy. But then the drums stopped, the girls froze in tense anticipation, the king silently looked around the audience with a heavy look and finally smiled. At the same time, a volley of military guns burst out somewhere behind the stadium, a shaman appeared in the center of the crowd of virgins and began to perform some kind of ritual, and the most beautiful girls rushed to the only microphone near the royal tribune and began to sing Happy birthday to you! It turns out that today is not the day of choosing the bride, but the birthday of the king! In addition, Independence Day. The king had already chosen his bride a week ago, just as the naked girls were laying the reeds at his feet.
How the choice is made - no one knows, the process is intimate, outsiders are not allowed. Only the king and 70,000 virgins. It is only known that Mswati III gave his next wife a BMW X6 and promised to build a new palace. And he asked all the other applicants to stay for a week at the state expense and celebrate his birthday. True, it was not possible to mess around for seven days in a row: the active king spends this week traveling throughout the country (you can drive from end to end in two hours) and takes the girls with him, arranging holidays everywhere, the main hit of which is the dance of virgins with reeds and their parade.
People's dislike
At the exit from the stadium, a crowd of girls swallowed us. A couple of dozen, giggling, surrounded me, pointing to my eyes - they saw a blue-eyed man for the first time. Then one of them directly said: I love you! - and laughed again. - Do you love your king? - No! - came the answer. - But why? - We want to eat, and he eats pizza every day !!! - Let me buy you all pizzas, and feel everyone today like queens!
P. S. It was not possible to buy pizza - they simply don’t sell it in Swaziland. It turned out that "eating pizza every day" is the Swaziland's idea of the life of celestials or oligarchs.
Tens of thousands of girls gather at the stadium almost every year after harvesting the cane to get a chance to win the title of Queen of Swaziland. Virginity is the main condition, however, here it is controlled by the state. According to a law introduced in 1946, it must be kept until marriage or until the age of 21. For breaking the law, a fine is imposed: one cow or $ 152.
Swaziland: "Kings Can Do Anything"
Swaziland is a very small state between South Africa and Mozambique. Swaziland gained independence in 1968, but liberation from Great Britain did not benefit him - less than 10 years later, the parliamentary system was abolished, political parties were banned, and the country became an absolute monarchy.
King Mswati III has ruled since April 25, 1986 and almost every year he chooses his next wife ... in those cases when he finds a worthy one. King Mswati III is not limited in the number of wives, however there are two BUTs - the first two wives are chosen by the royal council, while the second must be from the Motsa clan. After - I don't want to walk, the main thing is that the husband's funds are enough. One wife costs a dozen cows. Well, the king has enough cows. According to Forbes magazine, Mswati III is included in the list of the 15 richest monarchs in the world with a fortune of over $ 100 million.
Election of a wife
Who will become the next chosen one, the number of which has exceeded fourteen, becomes known at the Festival of the Reed or the Festival of Purity. All Swaziland virgins come to the stadium. The holiday is as popular as the New Year in Russia. This is understandable - all virgins are fed free of charge for a week at the expense of the treasury. All over the country, girls are put into trucks and taken to the palace, or rather to its walls - there a camp is set up for them.
In the first few days, reeds are being harvested - it will become a fence. Each girl cuts a few reeds and brings them to the king. After that, a reed fence is erected, which is broken every year at the Festival.
How the choice is made is unknown - only the king and the virgins behind the fence ...
The wives of their king
On the right is the first wife, on the left is the second. Both girls are elected by parliament.
On the left, the third wife is the first of those chosen by the king himself. The fourth wife is a law graduate and patron of the Swaziland Hospice Home.
The fifth wife - in this photo, sits second from the right in the first row.
The sixth wife left the king in 2004, pictured: the 7th and 8th of his wives.
9th wife - far right
The 10th wife (left), claimed that she was kidnapped by the royal assistants in order to marry the king.
12th wife (left) - after alleged treason with the Minister of Justice, was placed under house arrest (for life) in the house of the king's mother.
13th wife - known for beating up a glamorous TV presenter. She was selected at the Reed Festival when she was only 17 years old, for which the king was fined one cow or $ 160.
The king and his 14th wife ...
Details Category: Countries of South Africa Published on 05/18/2015 17:38 Hits: 2519Swaziland is a small African country whose name comes from the people swazi that came to southern Africa from the central continent in the Middle Ages.
Swaziland shares borders with South Africa and Mozambique.
State symbols
Flag- is a panel with an aspect ratio of 2: 3 with 5 horizontal stripes on top: blue, yellow, red, yellow and blue. On the central, red stripe, two spears and a staff are depicted, on top of them an African shield. The staff and shield are adorned with decorative bird feather tassels that represent the king.
Red symbolizes past battles and struggles; blue - peace and stability; yellow - natural resources of the country. The black and white coloring of the shield symbolizes the peaceful coexistence of the black and white race. The flag was approved on October 30, 1967.
Coat of arms- is an azure shield, in the field of which an oval shield wavyly crossed into silver and niello on top of two gold spears in a pillar. Above the shield is an azure-gold windbreak under a stylized crown of green feathers. The shield is supported by the marching lion and elephant in natural colors. Below is a silver motto ribbon with the motto: "We are a fortress."
Spears symbolize protection, lion - king, elephant - queen mother.
State structure
Form of government- dualistic monarchy (constitutional monarchy in which the power of the monarch is limited by the constitution, but the monarch formally and actually retains extensive powers).
Head of state- monarch. The legislative and executive powers are concentrated in his hands. He is also the Supreme Commander of the Army. Parliament has no real legislative power and is in fact an advisory body to the king.
Acting monarch since April 1986 king Mswati III
Head of the government- Prime Minister.
Mbabane
Capital Cities- Mbabane (official), Lobamba (royal and parliamentary).
The largest city- Manzini.
official languages- English, swathi.
Territory- 17 363 km².
Administrative division- 4 districts.
Population- 1,185,000 people The country has the highest rate of AIDS infection in the world (more than 26% of the adult population). The average life expectancy is about 50 years.
The main population is Swazi, with a small number of Zulu, Europeans and immigrants from Mozambique. Urban population 25%.
Religion- syncretists 40% (beliefs based on a combination of Christianity with aboriginal cults), Catholics 20%, Muslims 10%, the other 30%.
Currency- lilangeni.
Economy- the main sector of the economy is agriculture. The main agricultural crops: sugarcane, corn, cotton, tobacco, rice, citrus fruits, pineapples. They are engaged in cattle breeding. Industry: production for the processing of agricultural products, mining (coal and asbestos), cellulose production, textile production. Transport: railway 297 km, highways 2853 km. Export: juice concentrates, sugar, wood, cotton, citrus fruits, canned fruits. Import: industrial goods, vehicles, food, oil products.
Education- the education system is not sufficiently developed, education is not compulsory. In primary schools, the duration of education is 7 years (from 6 years of age).
Secondary education (5 years) begins at the age of 13 and takes place in two stages - 3 and 2 years. Primary education covers 98% of children of the corresponding age (2002).
Higher education: University of Swaziland, agricultural and teacher training institutes.
Sport- football is popular. Swaziland took part in the Olympic Games for the first time in 1972. Swaziland's first and only participation in the Winter Games took place in 1992 in Albertville. Swaziland's athletes have never won a single Olympic medal.
Military establishment- the Swaziland Self-Defense Forces and the Royal Swaziland Police. The Swaziland army has never participated in external conflicts and is mainly engaged in maintaining order within the country and protecting the borders.
Nature
Basically, Swaziland is located in the highlands that descend into the coastal plain of Mozambique in three steps: High Weld (rugged terrain), Middle Weld (favorable for agriculture) and Low Weld (grassland, in the east of Mount Lebombo).
Mineral reserves are significant: diamonds, asbestos, gold, iron, coal, kaolin, tin, pyrophyllite, semi-precious stones (beryl, quartz, etc.) and talc.
Dense river network, the largest rivers are Komati, Ngvavuma, Umbeluzi, Usutu. Swaziland's main rivers cut through the mountains and flow into the Indian Ocean.
Climate subtropical and tropical.
The flora is rich: about 2,400 species - from lichens and ferns to magnolias and ficuses. 25 types of aloe, 12 types of orchids, 10 types of lilies.
Antelope
There are different types of antelopes (including horned), hippos, white rhinos, zebras, crocodiles. The tsetse fly is common throughout the territory.
Tourism
Tourism in the country is developing dynamically. Tourists are attracted by picturesque mountain landscapes, a variety of fauna, the possibility of a safari, as well as the original culture of the local population. Hiking and horseback riding excursions are offered.
The main tourist attraction is the traditional Reed dance (Umhlanga)- an annual mass celebration in Swaziland, the culmination of which is the dance of several thousand half-naked Swaziland girls who want to become one of the wives of the King of Swaziland - Mswati III. The holiday takes place in August-September.
The celebration lasts 3 days and ends with a dance. On the first night after arriving at the camp, the girls set out for the reeds. The next day they bring the reed they pluck to the palace of the Queen Mother of Swaziland, where it is used as a building material for protection from the wind. On the last day of the celebration, government vehicles deliver the girls to the stadium, where the culminating part of the celebration will take place. The stadium is attended by the king and royal family, as well as spectators. The King and specially invited guests give speeches on topics of current interest to Swaziland. After that, a dance begins, which lasts several hours. Spectators can join the dancers or encourage them by throwing money at their feet. Every year the king has the right to choose his bride from among the dancers.
Inkvala ("Festival of the first fruits") is also an important religious ritual for Swaziland, attracting tourists. It takes place in the second half of December and continues in January next year. This annual ceremony lasts 3 weeks and involves the unification of the people of Swaziland to receive blessings from their ancestors and serves the purpose of extending the reign of the Swazi people in the country and starting the harvest.
The ceremony is attended by the king of Swaziland.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Swaziland
Ngwenya mine
This mine is considered the oldest in the world. Ore containing hematite (iron mineral Fe2O3, one of the most important iron ores. Synonym: red iron ore), was mined here in the "African Middle Stone Age". At this time, red ocher was obtained from it. Ancient people used red ocher for cosmetic and ritual purposes. Later, the ore was mined for iron smelting and for export.
Other attractions in Swaziland
Lobamba
Mantenga waterfall
Historic capital of the kingdom, seat of parliament and seat of the Queen Mother.
Sights:
Palace of King Embo Royal
Royal Kraal
National Museum
Parliament building
Memorial to King Sobhuz II
Cultural Village - a traditional ethnic beehive village that conveys the life of the local people
Mantenga waterfall
The Reed Dance (Umhlanga) is an annual celebration of the virgins in honor of the Queen Mother.
Muti-Muti nature reserve
This unique place is actively used by practicing doctors and healers of the Inyanga and Sangoma schools to collect a variety of herbs used in their work.
The city of Siteki is a large commercial and cultural center. Siteki is famous for its Inyanga and Sangoma schools. Here they receive the title of healers and experts in traditional medicine.
King Sobhuz II Memorial Park
King Sobhuz II Memorial Park is located in the city of Lobamba and is dedicated to the first king of Swaziland. The park consists of a memorial, a mausoleum and a memorial museum. The three-meter bronze statue of the king is surrounded by shields.
The memorial is surrounded by a pond; at the entrance there are bronze sculptures of lions. To ascend the throne, the leader of the tribe had to kill the lion. There is a torch next to the memorial, which is a symbol of the fact that the spirit of the king is still alive. The torch is lit on important days for the country.
The museum contains exhibits dedicated to the life of the first king of Swaziland. The mausoleum is located on the spot where his body lay during the funeral of Sobkhuz II in 1982. The king is buried in the south of the country, in the mountains.
National Museum of Swaziland
The first and most famous museum of cultural history. Located in the palace of the XXVIII century. in the very center of Copenhagen, it covers 36 hectares and is a real open-air museum.
The National Museum was opened in 1892, it acquaints residents and visitors of the city with history, from the Stone Age and the Vikings to the Renaissance. Here are samples of various cultures of the peoples that live on the territory of the country.
History
The ancestors of the Swazi people came to this territory in the middle from the central part of the continent. At first they settled on the coast of the Indian Ocean, but in the 18th century. they were pushed back into what is now Swaziland by other tribes.
At the beginning of the XIX century. the Swazis fought against the Zulu and other neighboring tribes, and they raided the Swazi lands.
In 1836, the Swazi leader Sobuza I (now called the king) defeated the Zulu, introduced a centralized system of power, subjugating other leaders. He is actually the founder of the Swazi state.
King Mswati I in the late 1830s annexed new lands in the north of the country and created a large state (its territory was more than twice the area of modern Swaziland).
Swazi traditional dwellings
In the middle of the XIX century. the country began to attract European colonialists. In 1894, the territory of Swaziland was declared part of the Boer Republic (Transvaal).
After the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. Britain declared Swaziland its protectorate, but retained the power of local kings and leaders there.
In 1964, the first local parliamentary elections were held, and on September 6, 1968, Britain granted full independence to the Kingdom of Swaziland.
In 1973, King Sobuza II abolished the constitution, dissolved parliament and outlawed the activities of all political parties, trade unions and other public organizations.
Sobuza II died in 1982 and was succeeded by Mswati III.
In April 2011, thousands of opposition rallies were held demanding the resignation of Mswati III. The opposition accuses the monarch of plundering the state treasury in order to ensure a luxurious life for himself and his 13 wives. The police, using special means, dispersed the rally in the capital of Swaziland, arresting 13 organizers of the rally.
To begin with, there is actually no Swaziland anymore. This spring, King Mswati renamed the country the Kingdom of Eswatini, a name used before the colonization of the state by Great Britain.
The king thought that Swaziland is a funny word, besides, the country is often confused with Switzerland (Switzerland is spelled in English as Switzerland, and the African state is Swaziland).
Swaziland (a tiny state between South Africa and Mozambique) ceased to be a British colony in 1968, during the reign of King Sobhuz II. He ruled the country for 82 years, having ascended the throne in 4 months. Sobhuza remains the longest reigning monarch in the world.
King Sobhuza and cabaret star Eartha Kitt
The country, although small, is quite rich, with a bunch of resources and minerals. But, of course, not all enjoy the benefits of the land.
After freeing himself from British control, Sobhuza dissolved parliament and rewrote the constitution, bringing back tribal customs and becoming an absolute monarch. The king had 70 wives and about 210 children (no one was involved in the exact count). He was succeeded by his second son, Mahosetiva, who ascended the throne in 1986 and called himself King Mswati III.
Mswati III at the party
It is worth noting that the new king is not a stupid and very progressive person: he received his education in Great Britain. But if during the time of his father the kingdom still somehow flourished, then with the new monarch the population plunged into poverty, and life expectancy decreased from 61 to 32 years (still, half of the country's inhabitants have HIV).
In order to somehow fight the spread of the disease, Mswati introduced a law "on chastity", which prohibits girls from losing their virginity until the age of 21. Otherwise, the fine is a cow or $ 150.
By the way, the eighth wife of the king was underage under the new law, and therefore he himself had to pay a fine.
The king with one of the wives at a meeting with the married couple Obama
The king's family does not limit itself in anything, fully managing the country's budget and spending it on its own needs. At the same time, an ordinary poor man from Swaziland (the poor in the country are more than 60%) lives on 1-2 dollars a day.
Queen of Swaziland
Mswati does not really care about spending money on schools and hospitals, but he regularly does the newfangled decoration of the palace, his wives buy handbags for the amount that an ordinary Swazi resident spends in 6 years of life, and children acquire the latest gadgets and not in than they do not deny themselves.
On the left is the king's servant, a teenager with a pistol. On the right is one of the queens at dinner, in the background an expensive handbag
On the left is another renovation in the palace. On the right are the children of the king in the VIP waiting room at the airport (the cost of being in it is 150 thousand rubles)
King Mswati III has 14 wives (according to some sources, there are already 15 girls) and 25 children. He divorced two wives because they dared to cheat on him, and another committed suicide, plunging into the abyss of depression.
The monarch is not limited in the number of wives, but the first two must be chosen by the royal council, and the second wife must be from the Motsa clan.
Wives from the council. Left - second, right - first
On the left is the third wife. Fourth right, law graduate and patron of the Swaziland Hospice Home
The fifth wife was sent into exile in 2004 for conviction of adultery. The sixth committed suicide. The Queen suffered from prolonged depression, tried to find herself in painting and regularly underwent plastic surgery. The last straw was the king's ban on attending her sister's funeral. The girl could not cope with the emotions that overcame her.
Fifth wife, second from the right in the first row
Sixth wife
Seventh wife
Eighth wife, far right. The one for which the king had to pay a fine
Tenth wife. She claimed that she was kidnapped by the king's assistants and forcibly given in marriage
Eleventh wife
Twelfth wife, cheated on the king with the Minister of Justice. The monarch divorced her, and each of the lovers paid a fine - a herd of cows
Mswati and his thirteenth wife - chosen, like many others, at the Feast of the Reed
Fourteenth wife, again from the festival of virgins. According to some reports, in fact, she is already the 15th wife of Mswati.
If we return to the state activities of Mswati, then somehow he introduced a law prohibiting making love under water (the punishment is a year in prison). He also forbade women to wear trousers and shake hands. And he also forbade citizens to show their fifth point to the king (according to tradition, this is done as a sign of dissatisfaction with the king's policy).
However, the law banning the demonstration of the soft spot was soon canceled due to the favorite event of the monarch - the holiday of the Reed. During this action, tens of thousands of topless virgins, covered only with leaves, dance at his throne. This is how Mswati chooses his next wife.
And this is what this orgy looks like.
Girls love this holiday very much and come from all over the country, because all the participants are fed for free at the expense of the treasury for a whole week.
Each girl cuts off a few cane reeds and brings them to the king - then a fence is erected from them, which is broken at the next holiday and a new one is rebuilt.
The population of the country is categorically dissatisfied with the political course of the monarch and living conditions. The opposition regularly sets fire to government houses and plant bombs along the route of the royal motorcade.
The government only responds with mass arrests. But in 2005, Mswati decided to meet his people halfway and adopted the long-awaited constitution. However, life did not get better after that, all innovations actually exist only on paper.
