Our friend Chris was very excited about also dressing in traditional Swazi attire, and he convinced Peter to join him. We only had two problems. First, in addition to the two traditional cloths wrapped around his upper body and lower body, a Swazi man is supposed to wear an animal skin around his waist. When Peter started to get dressed, he asked our guard, Mathikane, for assistance. Peter, however, didn't have the animal skin. Mathikane told him that without the animal skin, he had better forget the whole thing. Fortunately, Peter's colleague Patrick came to the rescue.
Our second problem was that after Patrick arrived, he told us that the red cloth Chris had purchased for Peter to wear on his upper body was, in fact, for a woman. Oops. Why the salesperson sold Chris a red cloth for a woman with a blue cloth for a man to wear around his waist...we'll never know. So Patrick advised that Peter not wear a cloth on top at all, but wear one of Patrick's animal skins. So Peter had sort of a loop of calf fur around his torso, and also another animal product around his neck.
Peter looks a bit sheepish here, but Aviva was very curious about what Patrick had to say.
Patrick adjusted the animal skin around Chris' waist.
The ceremony is actually several days long, and the final day, during which the girls/women march in and dance in front of huge crowds of Swazi royalty, visiting dignitaries, diplomats, and tourists, is held at a stadium near one of the King's palaces.
Chris and Peter were a huge hit.
Aviva and I opted for our own traditional gear.
...as did our friend Leslie.
Some of the dancers were quite young.
I think the red headdresses signify royalty, so this seems to have been a line of princesses. You'll notice that traditional attire for girls/young women includes very little fabric.
At one point lots of traditionally dressed men moved up and down the stairs. We still aren't sure what was happening, but this photo gives you a sense of the scale of the event, as well as the majesty of the setting. The stadium is in the Ezulwini valley, which is flanked by beautiful mountains.
At another point, the King, accompanied by dozens of men, moves onto the field to acknowledge the dancers.
Here's a close-up of the King. He has a red headdress and is looking down and to his left.
We had to get some close-ups of Peter's attire.
Peter opted to wear shorts under his wrap, even though apparently one doesn't have to do so. He was still showing off some leg.
We even made the newspaper the next day! From left to right are our friends Shukri and Leslie, Callista and Aviva (the only one looking the wrong way), and Peter and Chris.
We had a great day, and even though Aviva was still a bit sick, she was in good spirits. It was very interesting to see, and we were grateful that the Swazis allow visitors this glimpse into their culture.
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