Thousands of maidens expected as Reed Dance kicks off
Saturday will see the first leg of the annual Zulu Reed Dance at Emachobeni Royal Palace.
Thousands of maidens will be attending the two-day uMkhosi Womhlanga in Ingwavuma.
Amazulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini will receive reeds from them.
"The young maidens will go to Mhlathuze River where there are a lot of reeds," says UKZN's cultural expert, Pikita Ntuli.
"They will then cut these reeds and arrange each reed in a proper manner to present them to the king or to the queen, to say we, your subjects, are offering an opportunity to help us with fertility and the renewal of our souls and spirits."
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Ntuli says the maidens will sing traditional hymns, and elderly women will perform special ancestral rituals.
"You will also have women who are going to do an invocation with the ancestors. That is a special ritual done by women where they speak to the ancestors and ask the ancestors to protect these young people, the nation and all cultural principles that the Zulu nation follows."
The Reed Dance will be followed by a three-day event, set to take place at eNyokeni Royal Palace in Nongoma next weekend.
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