Participation of Indian-origin girls in Zulu ‘chastity’ festival creates furore
8 Sept 2013 4:44 AM IST
A controversy has erupted over Indian-South African girls participating in a traditional spring ceremony in which young women parade before the Zulu King to confirm their commitment to remaining chaste before marriage.
A group of Zulu maidens who took part in the Royal Reed Dance Festival last week have rubbished the idea of opening the annual event to other races, saying that this would dilute the value of the ceremony. They accused King Goodwill Zwelithini of giving preferential treatment to Indian and white maidens while paying scant attention to people who have been the backbone of the event since it was revived 29 years ago.
The King and several local Indian leaders close to him announced after last week's ceremony that the festival would be open to all races in future.
In the ancient ceremony, which was revived three decades ago by Zwelithini, hundreds of young Zulu maidens from across South Africa march in scanty traditional clothing and most of them bare-breasted, to present a reed to the King at his palace in Zululand, north of Durban. But the Indian girls, most of them wearing saris and some of them traditional embroidered Zulu items, did not bare their breasts, raising the ire of some Zulu young women.
A group of Zulu maidens who took part in the Royal Reed Dance Festival last week have rubbished the idea of opening the annual event to other races, saying that this would dilute the value of the ceremony. They accused King Goodwill Zwelithini of giving preferential treatment to Indian and white maidens while paying scant attention to people who have been the backbone of the event since it was revived 29 years ago.
The King and several local Indian leaders close to him announced after last week's ceremony that the festival would be open to all races in future.
In the ancient ceremony, which was revived three decades ago by Zwelithini, hundreds of young Zulu maidens from across South Africa march in scanty traditional clothing and most of them bare-breasted, to present a reed to the King at his palace in Zululand, north of Durban. But the Indian girls, most of them wearing saris and some of them traditional embroidered Zulu items, did not bare their breasts, raising the ire of some Zulu young women.
Next Story
