616 SWAZILAND — Introduction modernoverland.com modernoverland.com Introduction — SWAZILAND 617 Swaziland The Kingdom of Swaziland stands as Africa’s last remaining absolute monarchy, ruled by King Mswati III. Many Swazis live in the rural countryside and still maintain a strong day-to-day culture and community traditions. Two of the largest cultural events are the Top of Left page: IMG: Rural Swazi Kitchen This page: single image - from the following list: annual kingdom-wide Umhlanga (reed) dance and Incwala (first IMG: King Mswati III Entering the Umhlanga (reed dance) IMG: Maidens Parade at the Umhlanga (reed dance) --- FLIP fruits) ceremony that attract tens of thousands of Swazis and visitors img hoping to bear witness to these unique events. IMG: Swazi Prince at the Umhlanga (reed dance) --FLIP img The small landlocked country is encircled by South Africa and A Single Image, Mozambique. It boasts a handful of nature reserves and game parks or Collage of Im- SWAZILAND that, like Swazi culture, have remained relatively unexplored by foreigners. While Swaziland's game parks don’t compare in size or SWAZILAND refined amenities to those in neighboring South Africa, some consider Swazi reserves superior because of their solitude and rustic beauty. 618 SWAZILAND — Highlights modernoverland.com modernoverland.com Highlights — SWAZILAND 619 EN4 EN4 R40 R40 R570 R570 MachadodoorpMachadodoorp SibayeniSibayeni BelfastBelfast CH A P T E R Hi GHL I GH ts M M R571 R571 A A HhohhoHhohho MatsamoMatsamo M M Swaziland R38 BarbertonR38 Barberton Ezulwini Valley – Unwind in the valley 541 541 NgoniniNgonini EN4 EN4 O O that Swazis refer to as "The Place of R38 R38 R40 R40 MR1 MR1 O O Heaven" (p635) R36 R36 C C HerefordsHerefords R33 R33 Z Z Sibebe Rock – Climb straight up the ManangaMananga BadplaasBadplaas BulembuBulembu Piggs PeakPiggs Peak Z Z steep face of one of the largest exposed A A TshaneniTshaneni LomahasaLomahasa granite rocks in the world (p631) I A I A MR3 MR3 R38 R38 EN5 EN5 C C BholekaneBholekane MhlumeMhlume A A CarolinaCarolina M M Woza Nawe Cultural Tours – Find the I I PhindivukePhindivuke heart of Swaziland as you explore and stay WozaWoza Nawe Nawe R33 R33 N17 N17 M M in a rural Swazi village (p644) R36 R36 R RR R ForbesForbes Reef Reef EnkhabaEnkhaba CulturalCultural Tours Tours MaphiveniMaphiveni B B Usutu River – Get soaked in Class IV F F OshoekOshoek NgwenyaNgwenya SimunyeSimunye Milba Milba N17 N17 MotjaneMotjane SibebeSibebe Goba Goba I I rapids and steer clear of crocodiles while RockRock MhlumeniMhlumeni B B R38raftingR38 down the Usutu N542RiverN542 (p640) ChrissiesmeerChrissiesmeer A A MR5 MR5 BreytenBreyten F F Q Q Luve Luve MR7 MR7 MbabaneMbabane Nature Reserves – Venture offN17 the N17 EzulwiniEzulwini I I N11 N11 R36 R36 WaverleyWaverley beaten path through one of Swaziland’s U U MthathaMthatha Q H H MR3 MR3 Q pristine nature reserves in the northeast- MhlambanyatsiMhlambanyatsi MpakaMpaka LonhluphekoLonhlupheko ern part of the country (p652) MafutseniMafutseni Siteki Siteki N17 N17 A A MahlanyaMahlanya E E T T ManziniManzini ErmeloErmelo MatsaphaMatsapha U BhunyaBhunya U N2 N2 MR18 MR18 MR9 MR9 R65 R65 MR8 MR8 SandlaneSandlaneMR19 MR19 LoyengoLoyengo CamdenCamden U U NerstonNerston R86 R86 MR16 MR16 R35 R35 Amsterdam Amsterdam E MR4 MR4 SidvokovoSidvokovo E R39 R39 O O N2 N2 MankayaneMankayane SiphofaneniSiphofaneni PhuzumoyaPhuzumoya SheepmoorSheepmoor MorgenzonMorgenzon SWAZILAND S S MR4 MR4 MR8 MR8 R33 R33 N11 N11 Big BendBig Bend H H MgaziniMgazini MR9 MR9 UsutuUsutu N2 N2 ReserveReserve EmahlathiniEmahlathini R35 R35 MR11 MR11 MR26 MR26 SithobelaSithobela SWAZILAND Gege Gege MR8 MR8 T T HlathikuluHlathikulu AmersfoortAmersfoort Piet RetiefPiet Retief MalomaMaloma LubuliLubuli MR9 MR9 MR11 MR11 NsokoNsoko R543 R543 BothashoopBothashoop U U NhlangnoNhlangno MR8 MR8 DirkiesdorpDirkiesdorp N2 N2 MR11 MR11 N11 N11 MhlosheniMhlosheni R23 R23 SihultseSihultse MR11 MR11 O O MR11 MR11 LavumisaLavumisa R543 R543 N2 N2 SalitjeSalitje GolelaGolela VolksrustVolksrustR543 R543 WakkerstroomWakkerstroom R543 R543 S S 0 Kilometers10mi 0 PaulpietersburgPaulpietersburg 0 Miles 10km 0 N2 N2 620 SWAZILAND — History modernoverland.com modernoverland.com History — SWAZILAND 621 HISTORY death in 1865, Swazi reign extended from the the country itself was spared from fighting and rose to power and independence movements Limpopo River in the north to the Pongola River in many Boers and British settlers left Swaziland spread across the continent in the 1960s. As Deep in the Lubombo Mountains that form the south and to the Crocodile River in the west. to fight for colonial powers in the South African the British conceded to the implementation of Swaziland’s eastern border, archaeologists have But the Swazi territorial heyday was short-lived. countryside. In this time of flux, the Swazis had policies to allow for increased independence, found 100,000-year-old, human-like fossils and Mswati had failed to grasp the threat that European a keen leader who was prepared to navigate the King Sobhuza II and his royal council formed the remnants of ancient human inhabitation of the presence posed to his people’s traditional way of country toward long-term independence. Queen region. But the history of the Swazi kingdom is life and did not fully comprehend the colonists’ Regent Labotsibeni, the wife of the late King much more recent and begins with the Nguni- ulterior motives. The Boers, who aimed to Mbandzeni, was widely revered throughout the speaking Bantu migrants who settled around establish their own independent republic apart kingdom. Labotsibeni feared that the new British The Basics present day Maputo, Mozambique in the 1500s. from the British colonial authorities, declared their rulers would not uphold the old system: protection There, they established themselves as the Ngwane own Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) in 1856. with minimal interference in the local affairs of her CAPitaL - Mbabane (administrative), people and for roughly 200 years, built a kingdom But the early Boer government was weakened by country. She was right – the British administration Lobamba (royal, legislative) along the coast that thrived from heavy commerce ongoing frontier battles and in 1877 the British parceled out land for white settlers and invested POPULatiON - 1.3 million and the ever-developing Indian Ocean sea trade. annexed the ZAR. The Swazis saw the British large sums of money into sugar plantations and LaNGuaGE - English, siSwati In the mid-1700s, King Dlamini III led his coup as an opportunity to defeat their own tribal mining in the highveld. Labotsibeni, who had TIME ZONE - GMT +2 followers over the Lubombo Mountains in search enemies and aligned with the British to subdue watched her late husband concede most of Swazi BORDERS - South Africa to the north, west and of greener pastures and they settled in the the remaining powerful kingdoms that resisted territory in the prior century, couldn’t bear further south, Mozambique to the east. present-day Shiselweni region and farther south colonial domination. deterioration of Swazi rights. When the 1909 Land Visa - Most foreign nationals do not need to arrange towards the fertile Pongola River Valley. There, the After the First Anglo-Boer War, when the Partition Proclamation officially gave two-thirds of for visas prior to travel. Entrance permits are valid for Ngwane vied for land with other emerging Nguni Boers successfully reclaimed their republic, the Swazi royal land to the white population, reserving 60 days and are available upon arrival for no charge. groups such as the Ndwandwe and the Mthethwa. British and Boer governments signed a peace only one-third for Swazis, Labotsibeni acted. The MONEY - $1 USD = E7.4, £1 GBP = E11.1, €1 EUR = By the early 1800s, intense warfare overcame the treaty acknowledging Swazi independence, but politically shrewd queen regent knew that she E10, ¥1 JPY = E0.08, R1 ZAR = E1 region and in 1819 the Ngwane were driven farther took away much of the kingdom’s territory. The would not be able to challenge the British militarily. Swazi Lilangeni, or Emalangeni (E) when plural, is north. 1881 treaty established the western and northern So while she petitioned the Crown to restore her pegged to the South African Rand. Most people will The Ngwane reestablished their kingdom in borders of Swaziland and in one fell swoop country’s land rights, she also launched a campaign accept rand bills, but some may not accept rand coins. what today is central Swaziland. Their leader, King signed large tracts of Swazi land that had been that asked Swazis to donate money and cattle in Expect to get change back in Emalangeni. Try not to Subhuza, proved to be a skilled statesman and consolidated throughout the reign of Sobhuza and order to buy back their lost land. Many Swazi men have any Emalangeni upon leaving the country, as it expanded his reign by conquering, incorporating, Mswati II over to the Boer republic. travelled to South Africa to work in the mines to can be very difficult to change it into other currencies and often coexisting with Sotho, Tswana and Nguni These were not the last colonists to plunder raise money for the cause. The campaign proved outside of Swaziland. tribes. These early alliances led to the eventual Swaziland. The discovery of gold in the early successful and was continued by Labotsibeni’s heir, First National Bank, Nedbank, SwaziBank and assimilation of different tribes into the culturally 1880s led to a decade-long flood of European Sobhuza II, and over the next 50 years, the Swazi Standard Bank Swaziland are normally open from 8:30am-3:30pm Mon-Fri and 8:30am-11am Sat. diverse Swazi nation. But it was Sobhuza’s son, prospectors into the kingdom hoping to stake their recouped over half of the land that they had lost. SWAZILAND Mswati II, after whom the Swazis were named, who claims. Mswati II’s heir, King Mbandzeni, proved Queen Labotsibeni also knew she had to Tipping 10 percent in restaurants is standard.