This afternoon a group of us got to visit the Cultural Village of Manzini. The village is a homestead that a family owns and actually lives in, but it is open for people to learn about the Swaziland culture. Each homestead is owned and run by one man, who is the head of the family. The man can have as many wives as he would like as long as he has enough wealth to buy the girl. The average price for a girl is 17-20 cows or the equivalent in currency which comes out to about $6000. Girls marry at the average age of 18 while the guys usually don’t have enough wealth to marry until 30-35. A Swazi woman does not receive a wedding ring, but rather a goat skin that is worn as an apron to symbolize marriage. The man must also provide three huts for each wife. One hut is for the woman to sleep in, one for her to cook in, and one for her to use to make beer. The man has his own hut. The huts are beehive shapes made out of a wooden frame and straw. The frame lasts about 10 years while the grass lasts about 3 years.
Once the children in the homestead are six years old, or when they can take their left hand over their head and touch their ear they move out of their mothers hut. The girls sleep in a hut surrounded by reeds they have collected, while the boys sleep in a hut surrounded by sticks. Guys and girls sleep in their respective huts until they are married. If a guy is not married he has no rights and his opinion is not heard at homestead meetings. Women are completely submissive to the husbands. They must bow in the presence of men and their role only involves cooking, making beer, and raising the children. Men do not allow the women to cook the head, tongue, or feet of the goat. They do the cooking of these parts of the animals, because they feel that if the women eat the head they will become smarter. If they eat the tongue they will talk more. If they eat the feet they will run away from the man. If a woman is caught in adultery the man can send her back to her family and have his cows returned. When a man is caught committing murder or black magic he is taken up to execution rock and thrown off the mountain. When the head of the homestead passes away the morning period for the wives lasts two years. Then the brother takes the wives as his own.
On the tour we were able to climb through the 3 foot door into the huts made of straw. They were very roomy inside and tall enough for us to stand up. After the very informative tour we were treated with a show of traditional Swazi dance and singing. My favorite part was when the men would kick their feet as fast as they could high above their heads to show their stomach strength. The women also demonstrated some amazing kicks above their head all while keeping the beat of the drums and the singing.
I love leaning about other cultures. It helps me to step back and look at my own to see the good and the bad.
