By Bahle Gama
From all four regions of the country and outside the borders, Throngs of emaSwati descended at Ludzidzini Royal Residence to join Their Majesties in the participation of the Main Incwala Ceremony. Incwala is the main ritual of kingship in the Kingdom of Eswatini, a national event that takes place during the summer solstice. The main participant in Incwala is His Majesty, King Mswati III.
Incwala ceremony moves in stages, starting with the Little Incwala, (Incwala lencane), and culminating in the main Incwala, (Incwala lenkhulu). Several activities such as cutting Lusekwane, Kuhlamahlama, and Umdvutjulwa, mark the key events of this age-old tradition. On Saturday, crowds of libutfo who included princes, princesses (emazinyane), members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, Senators, Cabinet ministers, senior officials from different wings of government, and captains of industry braved the scorching heat to participated in the country’s sacred ceremony. Lutsango and Imbali also joined in song and dance inside the cattle brye which was a hive of activity.
Prior, His Majesty King Mswati III marched past the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) parade which also performed the National Anthem before entering the cattle brye where the official prayer began. Upon entering the cattle byre, His Majesty went on to greet libutfo including Inyatsi, Umgadlala, and Inkhanyeti.
From there on, ambassadors and representatives from different organisations and countries residing inside the Kingdom had the opportunity to greet His Majesty and presented gifts on behalf of their Heads of State.
From thereon, in high spirits, Their Majesties and the nation as a whole proceeded to dance in celebration of the first fruit. The Main Incwala proceeds from the Little Incwala that began on December 15 at Ludzidzini Royal Residence. The Little Incwala took about three days in each Royal Residence, being Ludzidzini, Ngabezweni, and Mbangweni. From there, His Majesty proceeded to Buhleni Royal Residence where he commissioned Ingatja from the Hhohho region who joined others from the other regions before they were jointly commissioned to cut sacred shrubs (lusekwane).
. . . NATIONAL EVENTS ARE MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
Minister of Tourism and Environmental Health Jane Mkhonta-Simelane says national events play a major role in attracting tourists to the country. Speaking during a brief interview at the Incwala main day ceremony on Saturday, the Minister said the increase in tourist numbers in the country is courtesy of national events including the Umhlanga Reed dance ceremony and the Buganu ceremony.
This year, the main Incwala saw an increase in attendence with new attendees from countries like Mozambique, Israel and Germany, many of whom said they were delighted and intrigued by the idea of attending the ceremony. From Germany, Viko, said he flew for a visit in the Kingdom and recently learnt about the ceremony. He decided to extend his stay to attend the sacred ceremony.
“Having experienced warmth and respect from emaSwati during my stay and having learnt about the ceremony I figure I needed to be part of it and have a feel of the Swati culture in depth,” he said. From Mozambique were the Mashaval, Vaal and Namashulua tribes who said they had been visiting the country over the years but never attended the ceremony. However, this year they decided to ‘stretch’ their legs towards the Royal Residence and experience what has been the most talked about ceremony not just in the Kingdom but globally.
