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First revival of Zulu ‘bare-breasted maiden dance’ since Covid; Watch!

On Saturday (September 3), thousands attended the first reed dance festival in KwaZulu-Natal since the Covid outbreak after newly crowned King Misuzulu kaZwelithini was crowned last month.

Female dancers participated in the ceremony while holding reeds in the air during the celebration. The Zulu royal family hosted the celebration, which included speeches, dancing, and singing. Thousands of bare-breasted maidens perform the reed dance in front of the monarch in KwaZulu-Natal to honour their beauty and virginity. The late Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini revived the tradition in 1984.

Zwelithini responded to criticism by claiming that his decision had a positive impact on AIDS prevention and premarital sex. All of the girls in the ceremony are frequently required to take a virginity test. In South Africa, however, a law prohibiting virginity testing for girls under the age of 16 and only allowing it under certain conditions for those over 16 was enacted in July 2007.

Using the reeds carried by the females during the event, ancient peoples rebuilt the fence surrounding the royal kraal, or homestead. According to the Zulus, any reed that breaks while being carried to the king indicates that the female carrying it was not a virgin.

 

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