Whatshot
The Dance of the Maidens and Virginity Testing
The Dance of the Maidens and Virginity Testing
Author: Kasia Yoko
Date: 2012-09-19
Date: 2012-09-19
While the British Royals fight the French press for publishing topless photographs of Duchess Kate, our own royals put the big day of the Reed Dance behind them. The novelty of the event still rings in the ears of those fortunate enough to witness this special ceremony.
Prudence Mtshali, took the day off work to prepare her daughter Nqubeko Ndlovu for the trip to KwaNongoma. Her eighteen year old, has been preparing for weeks to be ready to dance for the king with her virginity document in hand.
Nqubeko was one of more than thirty thousand maidens who gathered at King Goodwill Zwelithini's Palace to dance and sing and show loyalty to the Zulu monarch.
It was a big day for the girls as the bus left the station and took them away from their mothers. It is also a proud day for the mothers who consider their daughters' purity as a sign of good parenting.
"For me it is important that Nqubeko attends the Reed Ceremony because it is my culture and I am proud of my daughter." Said Prudence, "I definitely know that my daughter is pure and she is still 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 testing by female community elders as a precursor to participation in the Reed Dance. Only those who are certified as virgins are allowed to participate.
On the morning of the event, a pre-dawn riverside bath near the Enyokeni Royal Residence in KwaNongoma allows elders a final opportunity to ascertain the virginal credentials of the "flowers of the nation".
Pulsating song and dance sequences and pounding African drumbeats enhance the festive atmosphere "as the nation's daughters are honoured for preserving their virtue".
The ceremony culminates in a colourful procession of the reed-bearing maidens who are led by the king's daughters and present their long stalks to their ruler.
Customary folklore has it that those maidens, who are not virgins but have somehow escaped the attentions of their elders, will find their reeds bending or breaking as they carry them to the king.
Virginity testing debates still simmer after more than a decade in the spotlight, despite the law prohibiting the testing of girls younger than 16. In Zulu culture, it is widely believed that virginity testing acts as a culturally sanctioned abstinence campaign, preventing disease, unwanted pregnancy and even rape. Their theory goes that by identification of young girls who are not virgins, they can detect child abusers in the community.
In promoting and encouraging chastity and sexual abstinence until marriage, the King pontificates that a major blow would be struck against the rampant HIV/Aids crisis. "We have won the struggle for liberation in this country. There's no reason why we cannot win the struggle against HIV/Aids," the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini announced.
