This was the weekend of the Reed Dance and 60,000 Maidens were camping near the royal residence. We were on our way to the Manzini market and Mbabane to explore and to stay with a missionary family in the capital, the Reymeyers. This couple works with our sewing ladies in Vuvulane area and with over 800 HIV infected adults and children through a program called CHIPS.
On our way to Mbabane, we saw hundreds of the maidens walking along the street in traditional clothing from their regimens, and in the grocery store, buying chips and soda- food for teenage maidens the world over.
I was conflicted about seeing the Reed Dance because I was pretty curious about what it would look like. However, I also had a lot of concerns for the safety and well-being of these girls who had very little supervision and protection and were so far from home. In contrast, Corine hoped to miss all the mayhem of tourists and maidens, and bypass the traffic all together. Somehow, on the way home from Mbabane, we got turned around and ended up driving right by the stadium on Sunday. The girls were still presenting the bundle of Reeds to the king. If the bundle is strong and straight, it represents their purity. I’m really glad society’s opinion of my character doesn’t rest on selecting wild grasses because I’m sure I would be the maiden who accidently picked some bedraggled, sad-looking Reeds. It takes several hours for the thousands of maidens to present the Reed, and then they dance. On Monday they dance again all day in their regimens or age groups, in their traditional costumes which consist of a sash and a metal studded belt.
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