CULTURE-SWAZILAND: Warrior Priests Observe Unique Pageant Events

By James Hall Reprint | | Print |

James Hall

MBABANE, Dec 13 2001 (IPS) - One of Africa’s great national pageants continues to be observed in Swaziland as it has for centuries, having been lost or suppressed during colonial times in other lands.

The approaching first full moon of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer solstice will bring to a climax the month-long ceremonies known as the Incwala.

Warrior priests called Bemante, literally, “They with water,” are currently following an overland trek from the landlocked kingdom across rural lands of South Africa and Mozambique to collect seawater from the Indian Ocean.

The salt water is essential for the quasi-religious cultural rights to be held at the Swazi Queen Mother’s village at Ludzidzini, 10 kilometres east of the capital Mbabane.

The water party, which began its journey on Nov 17, is retracing the path of the Swazi ethnic group, which migrated southward under their first king, Mswati I, four centuries ago, departing from an area that is now Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.

Like the followers of Moses, it took Swazis 40 years of wandering the Southern African terrain, pursing a southwesterly path under successive kings, before they entered what today is Swaziland proper, led by King Dlamini III. It was that monarch who first staged the elaborate Incwala pageant on permanent Swazi soil.

The main event, the so-called Big Incwala, is a national holiday in December or January, depending on the moon cycle of the year, and is a tourist attraction.

But visitors do not witness the other pageant events, or behold the fascinating preparations, such as the trek of the water priests.

The Bemante are all members of the Ndwandwe clan. “We have been entrusted with locating the sacred herbs since time immemorial,” says 20 year-old Sipho Ndwandwe.

For generations, polygamous Swazi kings have secured the loyalty of their subjects by taking wives from prominent clans and giving important cultural duties to other families.

Sipho is a young warrior of the Tinkhanyenti regiment, and he dresses in the leopard loin skin and fur anklets worn by warriors from previous generations. He carries a cowhide shield and carved fighting stick.

But traditional Swazi warriors perform ceremonial and cultural functions these days, leaving warfare to the Swaziland Army, although the nation has not known conflict with other African nations since 1879.

Sipho’s normal warrior gear is put aside when he takes up his duties as one of the 30 members of the Bemante party. They continue to wear the antelope loin skin and beads, but don headgear made of baboon hide, called imfene.

“People recognise us by this crown as representatives of the king,” he says. By custom, any Swazi the party encounters is obligated to give them a token of respect, such as a small coin or a button from their shirt or blouse.

Although the men of the party, who are mostly in their twenties, are from the Ndwandwe clan, the group’s organiser is by tradition a member of the Nsibandze family.

Ben Nsibandze, a long-serving holder of local and national government posts, has been supervising the journey for 15 years. “For a long time we could not travel to the ocean through Mozambique because of the war there,” he says. “The water party was only interested in the seawater and the sacred herbs, and we were unarmed, so the soldiers did not care, and we carried nothing of value for bandits.”

“But there was a danger someone would step on a landmine,” Ben says. “So, we made the journey through South Africa. Now, Mozambique is safe once more.”

King Mswati sent off the water party as he does each year from his mother’s village. He then went into a month-long seclusion until the final ceremony is concluded, which sees the unused herbs gathered by the Bemante burned on a special log. No one sees the head of state during this time, as he prepares to lead his people in devotions to the national ancestral spirits, or emadloti.

The Incwala is staged to petition the spirits for good rains, prosperity for the nation, and guidance for the king. As in all ceremonies, meticulous observation is essential.

“If something is left out, if the people do not take it seriously, the ancestors will be offended, and disaster may result,” says Themba Shongwe, a university anthropology student who speaks as a believer, not as a scientist.

Shongwe’s views are shared by many Swazis, who depend on the favour of ancestral spirits in their personal lives when they seek cures from traditional healers or guidance from their family’s pantheon of ancestors.

The Bemante follow roads and footpaths to the sea, where they collect salt water in gourds and calabashes, and return to be received by the king about three weeks after they set out.

The ceremony, called the Little Incwala, is held in an immense cattle byre that is the cynosure of the traditional nation’s political life. It is here King Mswati appoints his Prime ministers, announces major government initiatives, and gives special addresses.

Hundreds of warriors attired in massive ox-tail shawls line up across the kraal’s wide space, and perform the chant songs unique to this occasion.

A high whistling arises from the regiments; it is a royal salute acknowledging the entrance of a line of boys. They enter the kraal, walk its length balancing calabashes filled with seawater and containers of herbs on their heads, and deliver their burdens to priests waiting with the king.

The Bemante party has never failed to deliver the essential props for the national pageant. “We are mindful of our responsibility,” says Sipho. “For if we fail, the Incwala cannot succeed, and the nation will be in great peril from the ancestors.”