Incwala is a ceremony that goes back as far as Swazi culture
does, which Swazis say is a long time (although I have no dates). It is very
complicated and makes me feel like I’m pledging a stereotypical social
fraternity, so I’ll explain everything as best as I can.
Incwala does not have a translation, but it is the first
fruits festival. Kind of. Once the moon gets to a certain stage in its cycle,
the ceremony is announced. It’s never announced in advance because it’s
impossible to know the cycles of the moon in advance (I know – try explaining
astronomy to Swazis and tell me how that works for you). Once it’s announced,
the king goes into seclusion, the government shuts down, and the country goes
nuts. The ceremony typically goes from October to February, which, if you’ll
note, is several months of shutdown.
Swaziland does not have clans; they have surnames. There are
like 12 surnames for the whole country, but they do not represent clans. Don’t
say that they do. Seriously. It’s not a good thing to say. One of the surnames
has a crucial role in incwala. When the ceremony is announced, they have a
group of men from that surname set out on foot for Mozambique to fetch a pail
of water from the Indian Ocean. Again, I’m not sure why. You also shouldn’t ask
– it’s a secret. Some of the ceremony’s secrets are kept from non-Swazis, while
others are kept from everyone not inside the surname or royal family.
Basically, it’s a ritual that you can’t know about if you’re a nonmember. FRAT.
The men that get the water are called bemanti, which
translates loosely to water committee (emanti is water, be- is the prefix for
third person plural nouns). They wear traditional attire, though the loincloth
is different and they wear headbands of baboon fur to differentiate them from
other Swazis. The bemanti go around and basically haze everyone.
How do they haze? They fine you. The king said it’s illegal
to ask for money, but money is the expected fine, so you have to throw it on
the ground so it’s not a bribe. If you don’t, they may get violent. Women get
fined for wearing pants, so I’m in a skirt nonstop for the next several months.
They will come onto your homestead and demand food, and you have to feed them.
If they ask to walk past you, you’re being fined and you have to give them something.
There is no set financial amount. There is no limit to the number of people who
can fine you within the bemanti. Apparently this is acceptable to many Swazis
because it repays the bemanti for the great service they do for Swaziland,
which they can’t tell you about. Hazing. FRAT.
The women of that surname spend all incwala cooking for the
men in the surname who are not bemanti. It’s unclear what these men do. Sounds
like little sisters. FRAT.
Incwala ends with a dance. You are forbidden to watch. Dancing
is mandatory. If you do not dance, you get kicked out or they may get violent
with you. Hazing. FRAT. The king eats the first fruits of the harvest, and then
he drinks the traditional beer made from the marula fruit. Then everyone gets
super drunk because home brews are strong, and dances all night. Seriously,
Swaziland, FRAT.
So that’s incwala. You probably understand it as well as I
do. If I were Swazi, maybe I’d know more. Unless I choose to pledge this frat,
however, the rituals will remain a secret. Too bad I can’t opt out of the
hazing.
DISCLAIMER: The fraternity I was a member of in college does
not and will never participate in hazing. This is talking about stereotypical
social fraternities that we read about in the paper when they mess up or that
we see in American media. Chill, bro: no harm intended.
No comments:
Post a Comment