Royalty praises polygamy

Queen Mantfombi Zulu*

Traditional kings and queens attended the African Union’s 12th heads of state summit in Addis Ababa in February to ‘plead our case for recognition and incorporation into modern power structures’.

My husband King Goodwill Zwelithini of Kwazulu Natal, a kingdom of 13 million people, sent me to represent him. He asked me to honour the invitation he had received from President Muammar Gaddafi, who is pushing for the recognition of traditional rulers as formula for ending fighting on the continent. Although I was his guest, I disagree with his vision of one United States of Africa (USA) with him as the Malik Maluk (King of Kings).

This hullabaloo is politics. African kings and queens’ roles are socially prescribed, and not political as the presidents want to make them seem. We are the custodians of African traditional institutions and culture, which is why we want these to be emphasised for a peaceful Africa.

My role as the custodian of Zulu culture mandates me to be the link between traditionalism and modernity. Similarly, my dress code switches between the modern and the traditional.

Queen Mantfombi (left) with a friend at the Addis Ababa summit earlier this year. [photos: Juma Kwayera and file/Standard]

I respect my traditional dress. However, it is rich in beads and skins — right from the headwear to the loincloths. It is not something you just wake up and decide to put on. It is ceremonial and only worn on special occasions and the summit was certainly not one of them, which is why I dressed in Western clothes to the disappointment of many.

Controversial reed dance

I am the daughter of former Swazi King Sobhuza III, the father of the reigning King Mswati III of Swaziland. Several people have asked me why, as a progressive woman, I allow my brother to marry young girls during the famous annual umhlanga (reed dance).

The reed dance, traditionally held in August or September of every year, provides the King of Swaziland with a chance to choose a new wife. So far, the 40-year-old King Mswati III has acquired 14 wives through this ceremony that has elicited controversy from girl-child rights groups and anti-HIV and Aids activists.

Critics of the umhlanga ceremony are offended that the King’s acquisition of wives promotes polygamy, a social and cultural practice so common in southern Africa that is said to stoke the spread of the pandemic and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Historical accounts of the reed dance confirm the tradition was borrowed from the Zulu tradition, which had been practised for thousands of years. During the colonial period and the apartheid era, the tradition was abandoned.

However, my husband, King Zwelithini, whose Zulu culture is similar to that of the Swazi is credited with reviving it in Kwazulu Natal following the death of his father, King Sobhuza III.

The traditional reason for this ceremony was to encourage young women to abstain from sexual activities and preserve their virginity until they were mature enough to get married. It prepared the girls for marriage as during their stay at the camps before the actual dance they were given certain tasks to perform in groups.

I believe since there is a lot of group work involved, good communication skills are developed that help in solving problems in marriage. There are adult women who advise them on marital issues and how to handle them in a dignified manner.

During the umhlanga celebration, I use the opportunity to inculcate life skills in the children I take care of. I am responsible for showing them how young girls can be economically productive in a changing world. The idea of a king marrying a maiden is an insignificant aspect of a long tradition that has earned Swazi girls respectability. I think it is a good idea to teach maidens the significance of preserving their virginity.

Contrary to the belief that the King sleeps with some of the virgins, during the month-long ceremony, the king is ‘quarantined’. He is barred by tradition from sharing his bed with anyone. If this happens, it would upset the gods.

Nothing wrong with polygamy

I am one of several wives and I see nothing wrong with a king having several wives.

There is nothing wrong with polygamy. If a man is sexually strong and can have many wives, he should go ahead and marry. Polygamy does not encourage prostitution as we are made to believe but promotes the sharing of responsibilities.

My brother, King Mswati, is often criticised as anti-change, a charge made worse by his lavish living amid extreme poverty and devastating spread of the HIV and Aids. But the challenges have given me new responsibilities. I am a foster mother of 500 children, a majority of them orphaned by the pandemic.

I buy clothes and educate these children. In addition, I have to shelter them and protect them from adversities that young people encounter.

*As told to Juma Kwayera