Like I always say: It's NICE to be da King...
(thank you, Mel Brooks...) --- In [email protected], akasha_108 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Think the rajas are getting ideas? > > > > Topless virgins vie for king in AIDS-hit Swaziland > Aug 29 12:07 PM US/Eastern > > > By Rebecca Harrison > > LUDZIDZINI ROYAL VILLAGE, Swaziland (Reuters) - More than 50,000 > bare-breasted virgins vied to become the King of Swaziland's 13th wife > on Monday in a ceremony which critics say ill befits a country with > the world's highest HIV/AIDS rate. > > King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, arrived > dressed in a leopard-skin loincloth to watch the Reed Dance ceremony, > which he has used since 1999 to pluck new brides from the girls > dressed in little more than beaded mini-skirts. > > Wielding machetes and singing tributes to the king and queen mother, > also known as the Great She-Elephant, the girls danced around the > royal stadium in the hope of catching the eye of the 37-year-old monarch. > > "I want to live a nice life, have money, be rich, have a BMW and > cellphone," said one dancer, 16-year-old Zodwa Mamba, who wore a > traditional brightly colored tasseled scarf. > > Critics say Mswati, who has courted controversy for his lavish > lifestyle while two thirds of his subjects live in abject poverty, > sets a bad example by encouraging polygamy and teenage sex in a > country where 40 percent of adults live with HIV. > > Some say the Reed Dance, traditionally meant to celebrate womanhood > and virginity, has become little more than a showcase for the king's > young would-be brides. > > "The Reed Dance has been abused for one man's personal satisfaction," > Mario Masuku, leader of the banned opposition party, told Reuters. > "The king has a passion for young women and opulence." > > But many Swazis say the young monarch has a right to do as he pleases, > defending his penchant for young brides as Swazi tradition and arguing > that ceremonies like the Reed Dance, which this year drew a record > 50,000 maidens, cement national identity. > > "The king takes a wife whenever he wants and that's the way it is. > This is our culture and we will never change," said Tsandzile Ndluva, > 21, another dancer. > > TICKET TO WEALTH > > Many maidens, who come from villages across the country, dream of > joining the king's wives who each have their own palace and BMW car. > But others were scared catching the royal eye could curtail their > freedom and force them into a polygamous marriage. > > "Marriage is about love, not money," said trainee police officer > Patience Dlamini, who jazzed up her traditional outfit with a fake > diamond necklace. "This thing of many wives is not good, how does he > satisfy them all?" > > The king has also drawn censure from rights groups and the > international community for entrenching a ban on political parties in > the nation of 1 million people squashed between South Africa and > Mozambique. > > But despite criticism of Mswati abroad, Masuku's outlawed People's > United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) has failed to muster much support > at home, partly because many ordinary people back the king and > ceremonies like the Reed Dance as symbols of national identity. > > Monday's ceremony was the culmination of a week of preparations, which > included the lifting of a royal ban on sex with virgins, decreed in > 2001 to help rein in HIV. > > Days after reviving the ancient ban, Mswati in 2001, married a virgin > and fined himself one cow. Last week he lifted the five-year ban a > year early, ordering thousands of maidens to throw off chastity > scarves worn to ward of preying men. > > "What the king did by taking another wife was not good, because he was > meant to keep virginity," said 20-year-old Zanele Dlamini, a health > worker who chose not to join in the dance. "He is not a good leader > because multiple wives can spread HIV." > > Palace officials said that if the king did select a new wife at > Monday's dance, the announcement would not be made immediately. > > > > > http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/08/29/MTFH67401_2005-08-29_16- 15-14_BAU958518.html ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
