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“"The highlight of the tour came when we were invited to attend a show of traditional dancing and singing. . ."” |
Our safari continues with us entering Swaziland - a separate country that is completely surrounded by South Africa. Definitely adding lots of stamps to our passport now!
We have learned that the Swazis are people very much attached to their heritage and culture. Many individuals continue to dress and behave in the fashion of their ancestors and do not necessarily embrace the modern world around us today. There is an odd mix of the modern world and the traditional Swazi culture being embraced through the country. After passport control, we entered the country and proceeded directly to a Swaziland cultural village located right over the border - almost in between the borders of South Africa and Swaziland.
Our guide for our tour of the Swazi village was the son of the chief of the village. He explained many aspects of their culture to us. The marriage rituals - especially their practice of polygamy - as well as the hierarchy of individuals in the village. It is very much a male dominated society in every aspect of their interaction with eachother. Women are considered to be of much less significance and importance than the men in the village. It was great when the guide tried to persuade one of our travelling companions, Kate, into marrying him and staying there by offering her a herd of sheep - she was less than intrigued to say the least! He guided us through a Swazi hut - which is essentially a beehive looking hut with a thatched roof extending all the way to the ground.
The highlight of the tour came when we were invited to attend a show of traditional dancing and singing from the entire tribe. Their lead singer had the most amazing voice - really, really beautiful. All the music was sung in their traditional language (save for one song from The Lion King) and accompanied by drums. The dancing was as tribal as you would expect and very intriguing having never seen before - lots of stomping and clapping around. They wore traditional costumes with headresses and foot jewellery.
The best part of the performance came when the audience participation part of the day began. April had positioned us at the very front center of the audience so of course we were both dragged up onto the stage to demonstrate our 2-Stepping abilities. We tried to follow the moves of our partners whom we were dancing with but can't guarantee we were very good at all. April loved every minute of it (of course) and found it hilarious that the girl had gotten Chris off his seat in front of every one.
All in all, the experience was a good one. A little cheesy - and definitely aimed at tourists - but an eye opening experience by far. So far this trip has been chock full of opportunities to really see and experience how others live and our day in the village did the same. The tour provided a basis for seeing the rest of Swaziland and understaning their culture.
previous travel blog entry
Foreigner says:
Can we have some pictures of Chris in fluffy boots, please? :)))