| 19 August 2015
Swaziland – A Small Country with a Big Heart
The Kingdom of Swaziland is home to a proud and friendly nation who welcome visitors into their beautiful country with open arms. Swaziland is one of the few remaining Executive Monarchies in Africa, embracing and upholding its unique and century-old traditions.
Visitors to Swaziland are able to experience the cultural festivities such as the famous ‘Umhlanga’ or Reed Dance, and the Incwala Festival. Both are traditional ceremonies that involve over ten thousand Swazi people, and attract visitors from all over the world. The Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, is Swaziland’s best known cultural event and lasts eight days. Dressed up in brightly coloured attire, up to 40,000 girls take part in the festival by dancing, cutting reeds and delivering them to the Queen Mother, making it one of the biggest and most spectacular cultural events in Africa.
Visitors are also able to experience daily life in Swaziland by taking a trip to a local homestead. The homestead is a main component of the Swazi culture and visits to these homesteads are a true representation of day-to-day Swazi life. Today, most rural homesteads are a mixture of the traditional huts as well as the more modern, brick huts. People in traditional Swazi villages are very welcoming and will take you on a comprehensive and informative tour of their homestead.
Swaziland has an extraordinary range of local arts and crafts with many of its products now found in trendy boutiques around world. Throughout the country, men and women create the finest handicrafts, creative basket ware in vibrant colours, wood and stone carvings, glassware, exquisite candles, batik items and jewelry – all uniquely Swazi. There is also chance to see the craftspeople at work and in some instances, there is even opportunity for visitors to ‘have a go’ at the craft themselves. Many outlets are socially responsible, providing both income and empowerment for their craftspeople from poorer rural communities.
Swaziland is rich in culture and traditions whereby the monarchy and people of Swaziland actively maintain their remarkable cultural heritage, allowing visitors to experience traditional African culture in a country which may be small but has a big heart.
For more information on Swaziland and all it has to offer, contact The Swaziland Tourism Authority
Website: www.thekingdomofswaziland.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MySwazilandSA
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ILoveSwaziland |
