Christmas Road Trip - Swazi Village

On Christmas morning, we wrapped sarapes emblazoned with the King's face around our hips and made a short trek to a local village.  In the village, we were greeted by the Chief, a grandmotherly woman who inherited the title from her late husband.  Female Chiefs are not too common in patriarchal Swaziland.  The Chief happens to be a member of the Swazi Royal Family, and is King Mswati III's aunt. 

Swaziland is the last absolute monarchy in Africa.  The Swazi King prides himself on upholding local traditions, including the practice of polygamy.  He currently has 14 wives.  He is also known for his lavish and opulant lifestyle, which is criticized by some as being maintained at the expense of addressing the many challenges that plague the citizens of Swaziland, who have the dubious distinction of living with the highest HIV prevalence rate -- and the lowest life expectancy -- in the world.

The Chief doesn't seem to benefit from the Royal Family's wealth, and instead, invites tourists to her homestead as a means of raising funds to provide for the 327 AIDS orphans under her charge.  It was a pleasure to spend Christmas morning with her and the kids, as they took us through their daily routines and patiently taught us songs and dances.

As you can see, I couldn't get enough of this little warrior.

I am grinding cornmeal for the children's Christmas lunch.

The Chief.

Our guide, demonstrating Swazi attire.

Christmas Road Trip - Swazi Sanctuary

I don't think I would have thought, a year ago, that I would be spending Christmas 2012 in a grass hut in Swaziland -- but I am so glad I did -- it turned out to be a delightful treat !

We stayed at the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, in traditional Swazi style beehive huts. The sanctuary was a virtual Garden of Eden, with all sorts of species of antelopes (bleisboks, nyalas, impalas, waterbucks) and zebras roaming freely. We didn't bump into the resident hippos, which is probably a good thing, but we did see crocodiles, turtles, and plenty of bird life in the little lake we looked out over while having breakfast.  I had to wait for a herd of zebras to cross my path one evening on my way back to my hut.

We spent Christmas morning at the homestead of a Swazi Chief (see next post) before returning to the lodge for a sumptuous Christmas lunch.  We retreated to our grass huts to wait out a glorious afternoon thunder and lightening storm, while the local revelers continued their picnics and swims (not too wise in a thunderstorm?).  As it turns out, the Swazi hut builders know what they are doing -- not one drop of water leaked through my grass hut !

Merry Christmas, 2012 !

Our breakfast area overlooked this lake, teeming with birdlife, crocs, turtles, and fish.

Local revelers enjoy their Christmas afternoon with a braai, picnic, and swim...despite the impending thunder and lightening storm!

While I didn't run into the local hippos, I did have to make way for a herd of zebras on the way to my hut.

 

My Swazi hut !

Bleisbok.

The nyala who greeted me outside my hut on Christmas morning.