It’s a small country not four hours’ drive from Jozi, and it’s the ideal place to experience rural African culture, while living in style, writes Bob Forrester

Swaziland was once known for its nightlife, prostitutes, blue movies and gambling when South Africa was firmly in the cold, clammy grip of apartheid. During the period between the start of the Mozambican Revolution in the mid 70s and the fall of apartheid, Swaziland was the place to be at night. Those days are gone, and so have institutions such as The Penguin Night Club, with Glenda Kemp the well-known stripper, and her celebrated python.

Instead there are excellent venues such as House on Fire, an organic stone building that is an art work itself. Construction never ceases, and there are numerous towers with angels atop, mosaics and a lot of intricately carved soapstone. There are two stages, one inside, one out – and this is the venue for one of the most exciting music festivals in southern Africa.

The beat of Bushfire

The annual Bushfire festival is held here at the end of July, and it’s a full weekend of music, dance and chilling. Bands that have played in the past include Johnny Clegg, Busi Mhlongo, Acoustic Africa with Habib Koite, Vusi Mahlasela, Dobet Gnahore and Ali Keita. Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse was there with Sipho Kazi, Hip Hop Pantsula, and international bands Eletha Boloja, Tinbila ta Venancio and Swaziland’s own Boloja. Mango Groove are regulars.

The atmosphere is very mellow. Swaziland never went through apartheid, and a whole level of tension evident in South Africa simply does not exist in Swaziland. Bushfire is an amiable extended outdoor event. During the day people lie on the grass or under shady trees, and at night the tempo changes to an intense experience. This is how festivals should be: good music, well organised and chilled.

Ancient mining history

The country also has evidence of other festivals, tens of thousands of years ago at one of the world’s oldest known mines, Lion Cavern. This is in the stunningly beautiful mountainous Malolotja Nature Reserve. Here 45 000 years ago Stone Age miners found red ochre and specularite, a naturally sparkling form of iron that glitters when crushed. Put it in your hair, and is indistinguishable from glitter worn in clubs today. Ochre was what the San used for their paintings. It is also claimed that it lowered the barrier between this world and the world of the spirits.

Many of the paintings that these rock-painters left, such as the ones at Nsangwini in the north of Swaziland, are records of trips to the other world after ritual dancing; when people came back from the spirit world, they painted what had happened for the rest of the group.

It needs little imagination to conjure up the magical vision of dark bodies sparkling eerily in the moonlight as they engage in mysterious ritual dances. Rub a finger along the rock in the vicinity of the Lion Cavern, and you instantly understand what led ancient people to search for the specularite and ochre.

There is also a vast hole left by modern miners – 28 million tons of high-grade ore were removed, sent to Japan and then exported around the world as Toyotas. To put the size of the mine into perspective, this is enough iron to make all the cars on the roads in Southern Africa today.

The mine closed around 20 years ago, and today eagles soar over the silent pit and nearby mountain tops. There is a visitor information centre with comprehensive displays.

The Reed Dance

Links with the past are evident everywhere. Swaziland is one of the African countries with the strongest links with tradition. These links are best seen in the festival of the Umhlanga, or as it known outside the country, the Reed Dance. This five-day festival is held in August. This year was the first time that the date was announced in advance, so now it is possible to plan a visit. The girls, who may be teenagers or in their early 20s, wear the very colourful traditional costumes of unmarried maidens.

The festival starts when the girls march to reed beds and spend a day knee deep in water cutting reeds. The final days are visually stunning, with tens of thousands of girls returning to the Swazi queen mother’s residence. A seemingly never-ending line of girls walk, moving over the veld like a giant, brightly marked snake. At times the line is so long that it extends from one horizon to the other – and the girls walk in formations six people across. This is no small event. This year an estimated 40 000 to 50 000 maidens took part, making it one of the world’s largest traditional festivals.

Refreshed after a night’s sleep they arrive in the royal enclosure the following morning – dancing, singing and ululating – to deliver their bundles of reeds to the queen mother. After a rest, the fifth and final day is the culmination of the event. The king and queen mother sit while the girls parade before them in a continuous loop that is kilometres long. Every maiden gets to dance in front of the leaders, often several times, although the loop can take some hours to get back to the same place. The girls wear the ceremonial costume of the umcwasho, a micro skirt with beads and a wool pendant hanging from one shoulder over bare breasts; they carry a large knife or torch. Maidens with royal blood wear the bright-red wing feathers of the national bird in their hair, the traditional symbol of royalty.

The king often chooses a potential wife from the dancers present, but is not obligated to do so. This is an extraordinary, rare and beautiful ceremony to many, although some feminists find it deeply insulting. Questions have also been asked about the tradition of polygamy in a country with reportedly the highest HIV infection rates in the world.

But the Swazi are traditional folk, and the Reed Dance will be held for a long time yet, it seems. Get there on time to find a seat in the newly built stadium that gives excellent views of the event from a slightly raised perspective. A powerful zoom lens is a good idea to get fine detail – this ceremony is spectacular.

The end of year Incwala ceremony, when warriors dress in war regalia of skins and feathers with shields and spears, is a celebration of power and kingship. The odd wristwatch and cell phone indicate that we’re in the 21st century, but apart from that this ceremony is exactly the same as it has been during the last two centuries. You will be forgiven for thinking that you stepped back in time.

The old and the new

This blend of ancient and modern can be simply and easily experienced in Swaziland by staying in community projects. These have been developed by donors in remote rural areas with superb scenery and are now community run.

Kopho Lodge is one such community project. It’s a unique piece of architecture perched hundreds of metres above the meandering river below. The lodge is built into the huge granite boulders of a koppie. Think of a combination of the Zimbabwe ruins and Zen minimalism with a few slightly bizarre community touches to get an idea of the place. And rural Swaziland is safe; Kopho provides city dwellers an idea of what rural life is actually like, not just in Swaziland, but in the rest of Africa.

It’s a small country not four hours’ drive from Jozi, and it’s the ideal place to experience rural African culture, while living in style, writes Bob Forrester

Swaziland was once known for its nightlife, prostitutes, blue movies and gambling when South Africa was firmly in the cold, clammy grip of apartheid. During the period between the start of the Mozambican Revolution in the mid 70s and the fall of apartheid, Swaziland was the place to be at night. Those days are gone, and so have institutions such as The Penguin Night Club, with Glenda Kemp the well-known stripper, and her celebrated python.

Instead there are excellent venues such as House on Fire, an organic stone building that is an art work itself. Construction never ceases, and there are numerous towers with angels atop, mosaics and a lot of intricately carved soapstone. There are two stages, one inside, one out – and this is the venue for one of the most exciting music festivals in southern Africa.

The beat of Bushfire

The annual Bushfire festival is held here at the end of July, and it’s a full weekend of music, dance and chilling. Bands that have played in the past include Johnny Clegg, Busi Mhlongo, Acoustic Africa with Habib Koite, Vusi Mahlasela, Dobet Gnahore and Ali Keita. Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse was there with Sipho Kazi, Hip Hop Pantsula, and international bands Eletha Boloja, Tinbila ta Venancio and Swaziland’s own Boloja. Mango Groove are regulars.

The atmosphere is very mellow. Swaziland never went through apartheid, and a whole level of tension evident in South Africa simply does not exist in Swaziland. Bushfire is an amiable extended outdoor event. During the day people lie on the grass or under shady trees, and at night the tempo changes to an intense experience. This is how festivals should be: good music, well organised and chilled.

Ancient mining history

The country also has evidence of other festivals, tens of thousands of years ago at one of the world’s oldest known mines, Lion Cavern. This is in the stunningly beautiful mountainous Malolotja Nature Reserve. Here 45 000 years ago Stone Age miners found red ochre and specularite, a naturally sparkling form of iron that glitters when crushed. Put it in your hair, and is indistinguishable from glitter worn in clubs today. Ochre was what the San used for their paintings. It is also claimed that it lowered the barrier between this world and the world of the spirits.

Many of the paintings that these rock-painters left, such as the ones at Nsangwini in the north of Swaziland, are records of trips to the other world after ritual dancing; when people came back from the spirit world, they painted what had happened for the rest of the group.

It needs little imagination to conjure up the magical vision of dark bodies sparkling eerily in the moonlight as they engage in mysterious ritual dances. Rub a finger along the rock in the vicinity of the Lion Cavern, and you instantly understand what led ancient people to search for the specularite and ochre.

There is also a vast hole left by modern miners – 28 million tons of high-grade ore were removed, sent to Japan and then exported around the world as Toyotas. To put the size of the mine into perspective, this is enough iron to make all the cars on the roads in Southern Africa today.

The mine closed around 20 years ago, and today eagles soar over the silent pit and nearby mountain tops. There is a visitor information centre with comprehensive displays.

The Reed Dance

Links with the past are evident everywhere. Swaziland is one of the African countries with the strongest links with tradition. These links are best seen in the festival of the Umhlanga, or as it known outside the country, the Reed Dance. This five-day festival is held in August. This year was the first time that the date was announced in advance, so now it is possible to plan a visit. The girls, who may be teenagers or in their early 20s, wear the very colourful traditional costumes of unmarried maidens.

The festival starts when the girls march to reed beds and spend a day knee deep in water cutting reeds. The final days are visually stunning, with tens of thousands of girls returning to the Swazi queen mother’s residence. A seemingly never-ending line of girls walk, moving over the veld like a giant, brightly marked snake. At times the line is so long that it extends from one horizon to the other – and the girls walk in formations six people across. This is no small event. This year an estimated 40 000 to 50 000 maidens took part, making it one of the world’s largest traditional festivals.

Refreshed after a night’s sleep they arrive in the royal enclosure the following morning – dancing, singing and ululating – to deliver their bundles of reeds to the queen mother. After a rest, the fifth and final day is the culmination of the event. The king and queen mother sit while the girls parade before them in a continuous loop that is kilometres long. Every maiden gets to dance in front of the leaders, often several times, although the loop can take some hours to get back to the same place. The girls wear the ceremonial costume of the umcwasho, a micro skirt with beads and a wool pendant hanging from one shoulder over bare breasts; they carry a large knife or torch. Maidens with royal blood wear the bright-red wing feathers of the national bird in their hair, the traditional symbol of royalty.

The king often chooses a potential wife from the dancers present, but is not obligated to do so. This is an extraordinary, rare and beautiful ceremony to many, although some feminists find it deeply insulting. Questions have also been asked about the tradition of polygamy in a country with reportedly the highest HIV infection rates in the world.

But the Swazi are traditional folk, and the Reed Dance will be held for a long time yet, it seems. Get there on time to find a seat in the newly built stadium that gives excellent views of the event from a slightly raised perspective. A powerful zoom lens is a good idea to get fine detail – this ceremony is spectacular.

The end of year Incwala ceremony, when warriors dress in war regalia of skins and feathers with shields and spears, is a celebration of power and kingship. The odd wristwatch and cell phone indicate that we’re in the 21st century, but apart from that this ceremony is exactly the same as it has been during the last two centuries. You will be forgiven for thinking that you stepped back in time.

The old and the new

This blend of ancient and modern can be simply and easily experienced in Swaziland by staying in community projects. These have been developed by donors in remote rural areas with superb scenery and are now community run.

Kopho Lodge is one such community project. It’s a unique piece of architecture perched hundreds of metres above the meandering river below. The lodge is built into the huge granite boulders of a koppie. Think of a combination of the Zimbabwe ruins and Zen minimalism with a few slightly bizarre community touches to get an idea of the place. And rural Swaziland is safe; Kopho provides city dwellers an idea of what rural life is actually like, not just in Swaziland, but in the rest of Africa.