Umhlanga (ceremony)

For the town north of Durban, see Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal.

A woman at the Reed Dance ceremony

Umhlanga [um̩ɬaːŋɡa], or Reed Dance ceremony, is an annual Swazi event that takes place at the end of August or at the beginning of September.[1] In Eswatini, tens of thousands of unmarried and childless Swazi girls and women travel from the various chiefdoms to the Ludzidzini Royal Village to participate in the eight-day event.[2] The young, unmarried girls were placed in female age-regiments; girls who had fallen pregnant outside wedlock had their families fined a cow.[1]

  1. ^ a b Patricks, Richard M. (July 2000). "Cultural Resources – Swazi Culture – The Umhlanga or Reed Dance". SNTC website. Swaziland National Trust Commission. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  2. ^ "Umhlanga / Reed Dance". STA website. Swaziland Tourism Authority. Archived from the original on 6 January 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2009.