I a'm a Virgin

While the British Royals fight the French press for publishing topless snap shots of Duchess Kate, our own royals put the large day of the Reed Dance in the back of them. The novelty of the event nevertheless rings in the ears of these lucky sufficient to witness this distinct ceremony.
Prudence Mtshali, took the day off work to prepare her daughter Nqubeko Ndlovu for the outing to KwaNongoma. Her eighteen yr old, has been making ready for weeks to be geared up to dance for the king with her virginity report in hand.

Nqubeko used to be one of greater than thirty thousand maidens who gathered at King Goodwill Zwelithini's Palace to dance and sing and exhibit loyalty to the Zulu monarch.

It was once a big day for the female as the bus left the station and took them away from their mothers. It is also a proud day for the mothers who reflect onconsideration on their daughters' purity as a sign of true parenting.

"For me it is necessary that Nqubeko attends the Reed Ceremony because it is my subculture and I am proud of my daughter." Said Prudence, "I virtually know that my daughter is pure and she is nevertheless a virgin and that makes me very happy."

The annual reed dance ceremony was revived in 1984. Maidens from all parts of the kingdom are subjected to rigorous virginity checking out by girl community elders as a precursor to participation in the Reed Dance. Only those who are licensed as virgins are allowed to participate.

On the morning of the event, a pre-dawn riverside bathtub close to the Enyokeni Royal Residence in KwaNongoma approves elders a ultimate probability to ascertain the virginal credentials of the "flowers of the nation".

Pulsating song and dance sequences and pounding African drumbeats beautify the festive ecosystem "as the nation's daughters are honoured for retaining their virtue".

The ceremony culminates in a vibrant procession of the reed-bearing maidens who are led by way of the king's daughters and current their lengthy stalks to their ruler.

Customary folklore has it that those maidens, who are no longer virgins however have somehow escaped the attentions of their elders, will find their reeds bending or breaking as they raise them to the king.

Virginity trying out debates nevertheless simmer after extra than a decade in the spotlight, no matter the regulation prohibiting the trying out of ladies younger than 16 In Zulu culture, it is extensively believed that virginity checking out acts as a culturally sanctioned abstinence campaign, stopping disease, unwanted pregnancy and even rape. Their principle goes that by identification of younger ladies who are now not virgins, they can realize toddler abusers in the community.

In promotion and encouraging chastity and sexual abstinence till marriage, the King pontificates that a fundamental blow would be struck against the rampant HIV/Aids crisis. "We have gained the battle for liberation in this country. There's no motive why we can't win the warfare against HIV/Aids," the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini announced.