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EveryParampara

Traditions of Lobamba

The royal and legislative capital of Eswatini, where the Umhlanga Reed Dance gathers tens of thousands of young women.

Lobamba is the seat of the royal family and parliament of Eswatini, a kingdom led by King Mswati III. The Swazi live by customs of kingship and kinship, with two chief annual ceremonies: the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, and the Incwala, the first fruits ceremony. Both take place at the royal residence.

Lobamba: Parliament building of Eswatini, Lobamba, Eswatini. It was built in 1967 ( reference ).
Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Umhlanga and Incwala

In late August or September, tens of thousands of unmarried girls travel to cut reeds and carry them to the royal residence, then dance before the king. The Incwala is a sacred ceremony of the Swazi king in December or January, with warriors, songs and the eating of the first fruits of the harvest.

At the table

Sishwala, a thick maize porridge, is eaten with meat stew or with ground nut sauces. Sidvudvu, pumpkin porridge, and emasi, soured milk, are common. Marula fruit, harvested in February, is used to make a cream liqueur and a beer, buganu, shared at the festival of the marula.

Signature traditions of Lobamba

IncwalaThe first fruits ceremony.

Also part of it, and being written: Reed Dance (The Reed Dance.), Amarula (The cream liqueur made from the marula fruit harvested in Eswatini and southern Africa.).

A trail idea for Lobamba

  1. Swazi National Museum See items of the monarchy.
  2. Ezulwini Valley See craft markets.
  3. Mantenga Cultural Village See dance performances.
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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