By Celani Sikhakhane
The KwaZulu-Natal government has been tasked with ensuring safety on the roads leading to Nongoma from Friday to Sunday for the 40th-anniversary celebrations of the centuries-old Reed Dance.
King Misuzulu kaZwelithini will host local and international guests at the event, and over 50,000 maidens from all corners of the province and other parts of the country will start gathering at the eNyokeni Royal Palace on Friday.
At a meeting last week, King Misuzulu instructed MEC Siboniso Duma and senior officials from the KZN transport department to ensure that buses and taxis transporting maidens to the event are thoroughly inspected to ensure they are roadworthy and safe.
Duma’s spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, said that all 11 KZN districts thoroughly inspected the vehicles transporting the maidens.
“In our meeting with the king, we made an undertaking to respond with a high sense of urgency to his guidance. Among others, he highlighted the [importance of the] safety of the maidens.”
Buses will be at the Alice Street bus sheds in Durban at 9am on Friday for a final inspection.
“Due to the fact that His Majesty has generated interest nationally and internationally, we understand that many guests will be travelling from different parts of the country and the globe to eNyokeni Royal Palace,” Sibiya said.
“Tomorrow, we will announce our plans for the next three days as part of efforts aimed at ensuring the safety of His Majesty’s guests on KwaZulu-Natal roads.”
The late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu and Queen Regent Mantfombi kaSobhuza Dlamini-Zulu revived the ceremony, which had not been celebrated for decades following the British invasion and colonisation of Zulu territory and the subsequent rise to power of the apartheid government.
As well as joining in traditional singing and dancing, the Reed Dance is an opportunity to school the maidens in their culture. Older Zulu women teach the young girls, who have to be virgins to take part, about how they should act as adult women. They promote celibacy until marriage and teach the girls to respect their bodies.
While the lessons and ceremonies are steeped in Zulu tradition and culture, this mass gathering of young people is also an opportunity to discuss contemporary social issues that affect them, such as HIV and teen pregnancies.
For visitors, the highlight of the event is the reed-giving ceremony. Led by Zulu princesses, the young women each collect a cut reed and present it to the king. Zulu men also participate in this part of the ceremony, singing and mock fighting.
According to Zulu tradition, the original ancestor emerged from a reed bed, so the laying of reeds at the king’s feet symbolises respect for the Zulu culture.
Pictured above: It’s all systems go for the 40-year anniversary of the Zulu Reed Dance as thousands of maidens flock to Nongoma from Friday.
Source: KZN Tourism
