King Misuzulu moves Reed Dance to Mashobeni Palace
The spokesperson for King Misuzulu kaZwelithini says moving the Reed Dance and other major royal events from Enyokeni was necessary, even if it is unpopular.
Prince Thulani Zulu says this year’s Reed Dance will be held at Mashobeni Palace in Pongola after decades of being hosted at Enyokeni.
The move has drawn mixed reactions from the public, but Zulu says it's guided by cultural and ritual requirements linked to the throne.
"There are so many rituals done that are prerequisite through the Reed Dance, as such. So those rituals, the current King cannot do the rituals in the space where his father was doing them. In the past three years, when the Reed Dance was performed, it was just a mere Reed Dance, a very shallow stage. Nothing was done that is supposed to have been done before the Reed Dance."
He says the King recently participated in the festival uMkhosi woSelwa, which involves key rituals that cannot be performed at his late father’s residence.
Zulu says the change allows King Misuzulu to begin building his own legacy.
" Change is not an easy thing. You see, the passing of His Majesty King Zwelithini was the beginning of change. We cannot have a king who will be imitating the King without actually starting his own legacy because King Zwelithini wrote his history, good and bad. This one will also write his own history, good and bad."
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