It’s fascinating traveling around the globe and getting to learn about other cultures! We got to spend 2 weeks in Swazi, and here are some facts we learned after spending an afternoon in a traditional Swaziland village.
Married women wear a goatskin (equal to a wedding ring)
Once turn 6, you live together with either all the other boys or girls in a separate hut
Women aren’t allowed to eat animal heads (b/c will become too intelligent) or tongue (b/c will talk too much)
Schooling for the boys is sitting around a fire and talking with the fathers (girls are only allowed to stand at the doorway of the fence-outlined circle
The prior king had 100 wives and 600 children
Current king is already up to 14 wives
Each wife gets 3 huts: 1 to sleep 2 to cook 3 to make beer
Men can marry as many women as they want as long as they can provide the 3 huts for her as well as pay the dowry
Average dowry is 17-20 cows/wife
Each cow costs about $215-285
All live in huts made of grass and sticks- grass lasts about 3 hrs and structure needs rebuilt every 10-15 years; men build phrame in 8 wks, women make grass cover in 2 wks
Girls marry around age 18, men not til around 35 (saving up $ for the dowry)
Village grandmother’s word is the final say
Villages are by families, the 1st wife of the head man becomes the grandmother of the community
“Men first” they say so that if there is a predator or enemy waiting, they can protect the woman behind them
When a husband dies, the women will mourn for 2 yrs- wear all black and don’t do any hard labor
The mans brother will take this widow after these 2 yrs, but only if he is already married
If there is good evidence that a woman practices witchcraft or cheats on her husband, he can return her to her family and get the dowry back
