Africa-Press – Eswatini. Emaswati seem to be excited at attending this year’s Little Incwala festivities as the number of attendees continued to grow since the ceremony began a week ago.
One of the attendees Sanele Mahlindza said he was amazed by the many people attending since day one. He said he had been attending the cultural event from the first day this year, adding that this was the seventh year since he joined libutfo.
He added that people adorned their traditional regalia properly and only a few still needed assistance, whom he referred to as imincugulu. He said an exception course would be with tourists as they were first-timers.
“The numbers attest that Emaswati really love their culture, traditions and Their Majesties because they adhered to the national call regardless of the threats that were made on social media. It is sad to notice some of us attending the event without the proper traditional regalia, especially because we knew about this cultural activity since the beginning of the year. I understand though that imvunulo is expensive,” he clarified.
Meanwhile, Lomasiko Maseko said she was elated to be part of the revered cultural event. She said she wished the ceremony begun earlier, but understood that the celestial and astronomical bodies had to be assessed first to set the dates of the national prayer as per the Eswatini culture.
Maseko stated that she attended the Little Incwala her family; two children and two sisters. She said the children were thrilled to attend Incwala as they could identify His Majesty King Mswati III from a closer view, whom they normally saw in the media.
“One of my daughters cannot stop but keep on saying she was happy to see the King at close range. She also experienced the praise-singing and also made new friends before the trumpet was blown, marking the start of the day’s activities,” she said.
Tourists, on the other hand appreciated the country’s hospitality, great scenery and the holiday experience, which included the Little Incwala experience.
One of the tourists who comes from New York, United States of America Ian Cass, who is travelling with a group of friends, said they had carefully planned their six-week holiday in Southern Africa to coincide with the Incwala ceremony in the country.
However, he revealed that they had initially planned to embark on their visit in September in order to watch the Reed Dance ceremony, but it was not possible as some of them were committed at their workplaces.
Cass noted that they had booked one of the hospitality establishments in Ezulwini and the service was great, including Emaswati they met as they visited various places.
“The people I spoke to have shared how indigenous knowledge is embedded within Incwala. It is basically a lovely experience to be here.
In the past two days I visited one of the Royal residences and this is my second day here. We plan to visit Mozambique over the weekend but we will return to Eswatini again next week in time for the Main Incwala Day,” he said.
Zukiswa Zimbili from Eastern Cape said the whole experience was an adventure for her. She said she noticed that the nation loved its culture. She said she even bought a kanga for herself. She promised not to miss the ceremony even next year.
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