SEYCHELLES: Developing Cruise Tourism

Seychelles has joined the eastern and southern African cruise industry as well as that of the Indian Ocean to seek new strategies for sustainable cruise tourism and to see how the competitive edge and market share within the international cruise business can be improved.

These strategies were being discussed at a workshop held this week at the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA). The workshop was organized by the Port Management Association for Eastern and Southern Africa region (PMAESA) jointly with the Cruise Indian Ocean Association (CIOA), Seychelles Ports Authority, and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

Attending the opening ceremony held on Tuesday, were the PMAESA Secretary General, Nozipho Mdawe, and the Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport, Joel Morgan, and that of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange.

Also present were the chief executives of port authorities, tourism boards, and cruise operators from Africa and the Indian Ocean as well as other partners involved in the cruise tourism industry.

The workshop also gave delegates the chance to work together on new strategies for the marketing of the region as a cruise destination. In his opening address, Minister Morgan said cruise and super-yacht tourism is characterized by bringing large numbers of people to concentrated areas of destinations for brief periods.

The aim of the conference, which was held over two days, was to bring more awareness on the sustainable development of cruise tourism, develop cruise tourism strategies, and to catalyze collaboration in the region.

Miss Mdawe said Seychelles is listed as one of the best places to have on the itinerary by several cruise liners operating in the Indian Ocean. Hence, Seychelles is considered to be a valuable partner of the cruise tourism industry of eastern and southern Africa, she added.

On his part, Minister St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, said cruise ships coming to Seychelles are part and parcel of the blue economy. The tourism industry depends on that blue economy, and the country is one of the key promoters of the blue economy. He added that Seychelles acts as a bridge between the African and Asian ports, and promotes the diversity that exists in this region.

"We believe in working together, because no island can be an island unto itself. This is why with the islands of the Indian Ocean we have created the Vanilla Islands, and we are now successfully working in closer partnership with cruise ship companies such as Costa Cruises and Silversea Cruises. We are also actively working within the IORA and the East3Route of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, the Kingdom of Swaziland, Mozambique, and Seychelles to push for more focus on the cruise ship industry.

Today, we can say that Seychelles and the Vanilla Islands are the bridge between Africa and Asia, and we need to all rally to promote this region as the cruise ship route with diversity, because we have Africa, the Vanilla Islands, and Asia all working together as a region," said Minister St.Ange.

The Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture invited the PMAESA to work with the Seychelles Ports Authority and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Seychelles to organize a follow-up meeting between the ports of the region and cruise ship operators in order to move the discussions of this latest Seychelles meeting further for the benefit of the people of the region and for the consolidation of the economy of the countries of the region.

Seychelles is a founding member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .

SWAZILAND: Zulu- and Swaziland cultural tourism

In Zululand and Swaziland, original African culture is still deeply rooted.
A visit to Southern Africa, and in particular South Africa, can often be misleading for the true spirit of Africa. Indeed, many South Africans themselves say they are "going to Africa" only when leaving the country.

This is not an attempt to belittle the fantastic travel destination of South Africa, indeed one of the most exiting in the world, but it is a reference to the country's and region's high level of globalisation. No other African country is as industrialised as South Africa and as influenced by European and US culture, ranging from the contemporary cuisine to political structure.

Cape Town, the Drakensberg Mountains, Johannesburg and the Krueger Park are all world famous destinations with their own flair. But they can hardly be called "secret" destinations. Also, they are not very representative of what is mostly considered distinctive about Africa.

But you can still encounter age-old African culture that is alive and kicking in the region. In particular two of the many peoples in Southern Africa have been very conscious of preserving their cultural expressions and structures: the Zulu and the neighbouring Swazi.

In particular the Zulu, mostly living in South Africa's south-eastern KwaZulu-Natal province north of the city of Durban, have a proud military history of regional conquest and resistance to the English and Boer colonialists.

The Zulu national feeling is strong, directed towards their inkosi traditional leaders or king. In an otherwise heavily urbanised South Africa, where traditional leaders have lost most of their importance, only emigrated Zulu can afford to break away from loyalty to their leaders. Their political influence is however slowly diminishing also in KwaZulu-Natal.

But the cultural expressions distinctive to the Zulu nation are not on the retreat. Music, dances and traditional attire form part of the many festivals and ceremonies. But also daily life is shaped by traditions, including the social structure of an umuzi compound or village, food and drinks, traditional religion and witchcraft and the prevailing importance of cattle.

For the traveller, a visit to an umuzi in the softly hilled green Zululand landscape gives the best introduction to this rich culture. Of course, the best way is to be invited to somebody's home. But there are also guided cultural tours to Zulu villages and even guest houses and lodges built according to the umuzi structure, which mostly communicate the Zulu feeling well.

But of course you also should seek to experience a traditional Zulu dance and music event. And there are many returning events that call for dancing, either by young Zulu men and women together, or by only one of the sexes. You may be taken to a village where dancing ceremonies are being prepared, or you will be able to experience this forceful expression at your hotel or lodge.

And if you "only" get to see a Zulu dance performance at your lodge, be sure it is a genuine and exclusive experience. Because, contrary to so many other cultures where dancers gathered together for the tourist show examples of dying or dead cultures, here in Zululand this culture is alive and the same dancers also participate at real ceremonies.

No cultural trip is complete without some good shopping, and the Zulus are indeed great craftsmen. Also Zulu crafts are genuine and alive cultural expressions, the products being actively used among locals. Among the good buys are colourful beadworks, hand carved masks, shields, skins, drums, baskets, pottery, furniture and so on. Prices are reasonable, quality normally very good and the flair is arch-African.

Driving through the Valley of a Thousand Hills, the majestic Zulu heartland, you will see scattered umuzis with traditional huts, the occasional wildlife, some of the best birdlife in Southern Africa and an explosion of green. Several museums and historic sites are worthwhile, including the reconstructed royal enclosure of ancient Zulu king Cetshwayo, the Vukani Collection Museum and Shakaland.

Turning to more classical holiday tasks, KwaZulu-Natal can also offer some of the best beaches in South Africa, the astonishing UNESCO World Heritage site Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park, the eastern part of the Drakensberg Mountains, several safari-friendly game reserves and the beautiful and vibrant city of Durban.

Swaziland
Moving on, even further from the beaten track, our tour of cultural highlights in the region takes us to Swaziland, an independent landlocked kingdom bordering KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique. Swaziland has not the same proud warrior history as Zululand, but modern developments - or rather resistance to modernity - have made it equally preservative of its culture.

The Swazis are related to the Zulus, both in language and in culture, and most Swazi cultural expressions are varieties of those found in Zululand. Again, loyalty to the almighty King and his local chiefs is a key cultural expression. Traditionally built compounds with strict social structures, ancestral cults, witchcraft, cattle and traditional songs and dances form part of this.

In a Swazi village, the chief has an even stronger position, and it can be a good idea to be presented to him when visiting. Being lucky, you will get a good introduction to Swazi rural life, society and traditions.

But you can also visit the Cultural Village in Mantenga Nature Reserve, which is a living museum of Swazi culture where you will be able to participate in classical Swazi lifestyle. The Cultural Village also has daily performances of Swaziland's exclusive dance traditions, which are a colourful and spectacular manifestation of Swazis' loyalty to the King.

If you are visiting Swaziland in late August-September or December, you will be able to enjoy the country's two most important cultural events live. Then, respectively the Umhlanga and Incwala ceremonies are held, which many hold as even more exciting than the Zulu festivals.

The Umhlanga or Reed Dance shows off Swaziland's unmarried girls, while at the Incwala, the King participates in the dances of mostly young men at the Royal Kraal at Ludzidzini. The Incwala is celebrated with forceful dancing for several weeks and is the country's most important ceremony.

Also the Swazis pride themselves of a very rich and alive craftsmanship culture, most of the products being made for the home market. Here, you can indeed make good buys, including beautiful wood carvings, grass weavings, stone carvings, pottery, batiks and clothing.

There is however a dark side to Swaziland's rich and somewhat retrospective culture. It is actively used to maintain and strengthen the totalitarian King's total control of the oppressed population. Any efforts to establish a democratic opposition or modern trade unions are violently oppressed. This also means you should do some research about the current political situation in Swaziland before you go, because at some point, the growing public anger will explode.

But for now, Swaziland is a safe and secret travel destination providing you with authentic cultural adventures. Mbabane, the capital of the small kingdom, provides some fairly good hotels, but has very few sights worth mentioning. It is more rewarding to check into rural lodges around the country, which are better in communicating the peculiarities of Swazi culture and lifestyle. A drive into the scenic and green north the country is also rewarding.

Travelling through Zululand and Swaziland to experience the region's rich culture, the best way would be to rent a car in South Africa, as most destinations are rural and take a lot of time to reach by public transport.

Reaching the region, your best option is a flight to Durban international airport, which however has few intercontinental connections. The cheapest connection from Europe and America mostly is a flight to Johannesburg, where you can rent a car, find a bus or get a connection flight to Durban. Enjoy!

SWAZILAND: Reed Dance,Zulu And Swazi Virgin Girls Dance For Their King

Strange tradition where Zulu And Swazi virgin girls dance nak*d for their king in annual reed dance. As part of the ceremony, the young women dance bare-breasted for their king, and each carries a long reed, which is then deposited as they approach the king.

The Reed Dance ceremony, is an annual Swazi and Zulu tradition held in August or September. In Swaziland, tens of thousands of unmarried and childless Swazi girls and women travel from the various chiefdoms to Ludzidzini to participate in the eight-day event.

Young women dance bare-breasted for their king


The women sing and dance as they parade in front of the royal family as well as a crowd of spectators


Girls undergo a virginity test before they are allowed to participate in a royal dance

In South Africa, the ceremony Umkhosi woMhlanga takes place every year in September, at the Enyokeni Royal Palace in Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal. The girls come from all parts of Zululand, and in recent years there are also smaller groups from Swaziland, as well as more distant places such as Botswana and Pondoland. All girls are required to undergo a virginity test before they are allowed to participate in a royal dance, though in recent years the testing practice has been met with some opposition.


The girls wear traditional attire, including beadwork, and ‘izigege’ and ‘izinculuba’ that show their bottoms

The girls wear traditional attire, including beadwork, and ‘izigege’ and ‘izinculuba’ that show their bottoms. They also wear anklets, bracelets, necklaces, and colorful sashes. Each sash has appendages of a different colour, which denote whether or not the girl is betrothed.

As part of the ceremony, the young women dance bare-breasted for their king, and each carries a long reed, which is then deposited as they approach the king. The girls take care to choose only the longest and strongest reeds, and then carry them towering above their heads in a slow procession, up the hill to the palace. The procession is led by the chief Zulu princess, who takes a prominent role throughout the festival. If the reed should break before the girl reaches that point, it is considered to signal that the girl has already been sexually active.


King Mswati III of Swaziland & Her Royal Highness Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini (left)


The King Mswati III of Swaziland

The ceremony was reintroduced by King Goodwill Zwelethini in 1991, as a means to encourage young Zulu girls to delay sexual activity until marriage, and thus limiting the possibility of HIV transmission. In 2007, about 30,000 girls took part to the event. The organisers of the ceremony have occasionally enforced strict rules on photographers, as some of them have been accused of publishing the pictures on pornographic websites. In past years, the event was attended by the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, and then Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Zweli Mkhize.

In Swaziland the girls gather at the Queen Mother's royal village, which currently is Ludzidzini Royal Village. After arriving at the Queen Mother's royal residence, the women disperse the following night to surrounding areas and cut tall reeds. The following night they bundle them together and bring them back to the Queen Mother to be used in repairing holes in the reed windscreen surrounding the royal village.

After a day of rest and washing the women prepare their traditional costumes consisting of a bead necklace, rattling anklets made from cocoons, a sash, and skirt. Many of them carry the bush knife they used to cut the reeds as a symbol of their virginity.

Her Majesty Queen Mother Indlovukazi of Swaziland

Today's Reed Dance Ceremony developed in the 1940s from the Umcwasho custom where young girls were placed in age regiments to ensure their virginity. Once they reached the age of marriage they would perform labor for the Queen Mother followed by dancing and a feast. The official purpose of the annual ceremony is to preserve the women's chastity, provide tribute labour for the Queen Mother, and produce solidarity among the women through working together.

The women sing and dance as they parade in front of the royal family as well as a crowd of spectators, tourists and foreign dignitaries. After the parade, groups from select villages take to the centre of the field and put on a special performance for the crowd. The King's many daughters and royal princesses also participate in the reed dance ceremony and are distinguished by the crown of red feathers in their hair.

In 2013, a young woman was seeking asylum in Britain after she spurned the advances of the polyamorous King Mswati III of Swaziland and refused to join his harem of 13 wives.


Miss Tintswalo Ngobeni caught the attention of the millionaire monarch

Tintswalo Ngobeni, 22, fled to England from the southern African nation as a teenager after she caught the attention of the millionaire monarch, a notoriously oppressive ruler known for his lavish lifestyle.

As part of Swazi custom, King Mswati III, 45, is permitted to choose a new bride every year, especially during the annual Reed Dance ceremony.

Miss Ngobeni, who now lives in Birmingham, was just 15 when the King made his advances after seeing her at the palace of his fourth wife, LaNgangaza. She said she was ‘terrified’ when she learned of his marriage intentions.

she said, "He started calling me at boarding school. He would ask me if I wanted to be a part of the royal family.
I had to keep quiet about my fears but I knew I didn't want to get married to him and have a life devoted to the king",

"His wives are kept in their palace, surrounded by bodyguards, and they can’t really go anywhere unless the king says so. The only thing they do is go to America once a year, as the king gives them a shopping allowance'.

Miss Ngobeni was forced to abandon a comfortable lifestyle in a private boarding school, as her aunt who was her chief guardian arranged the escape to England to join her mother, who moved to Birmingham five years earlier, fleeing an abusive husband.

Miss Ngobeni has become a vocal opponent of the Swazi regime

"I didn’t have a choice,’ she said. ‘Nobody has ever turned down the king or dares to disobey him, so I just disappeared."

Since her arrival in England, Miss Ngobeni has become a vocal opponent of the oppressive Swazi regime, where political opposition parties are banned and activists routinely arrested or assaulted.

However, Miss Ngobeni’s high-profile activities, including weekly protests outside the Swazi embassy in London with activist group Swazi Vigil, have caught the attention of the authorities in her home country and she now believes she is in more danger than ever.

"Recently I had news that people had been sent from Swaziland to come and get me, which really scares me. If I went back, I would be arrested or much worse as there are people there who are tortured, beaten up or killed for being politically active", She said.

Miss Ngobeni now lives in fear of having to return to Swaziland, after her first plea for political asylum in England in 2007 was denied in 2011. She was arrested and taken to an immigration detention centre after 18 months of reporting weekly to the authorities.

However, after pressure from the TUC and the office of Roger Godsiff, Labour MP for Birmingham, Miss Ngobeni was released and has now been granted an appeal by the Home Office.

18 years old Sindiswa Dlamini

"We were very pleased solicitors were successful in achieving a judicial review into Miss Ngobeni’s case." Mr. Godsiff said.

The Swaziland’s King Mswati III, who is following in his father’s footsteps, King Sobhuza, who had 70 wives and 400 children later choosed an 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant as his 15th. wife in 2014.

According to his palace spokesman, the king has introduced to the nation his new liphovela (royal fiancee), 18 years old Sindiswa Dlamini.

The young woman graduated from Mbabane’s St. Francis High School last year and is a finalist in the Miss Cultural Heritage beauty pageant.

As part of Swazi custom, King Mswati III, 45, is permitted to choose a new bride every year.

Hence, thousands of young girls gather annually and dance for the king at a reed dance in order to give King Mswati III the opportunity to choose another wife.

The wedding only takes place once the chosen virgin bride falls pregnant.

His wives are kept in their palace, surrounded by bodyguards, and they can’t really go anywhere unless the king says so.

The only thing they do is go to America once a year, as the king gives them a shopping allowance.

The father of 27 children, 45-year-old King Mswati III was a guest at the William and Kate wedding as well as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations last summer.

Three wives left his household in recent years. The latest, Queen LaGija, fled the palace in 2012 claiming years of physical and emotional abuse.


Queen LaDube

Another Queen LaDube, was reportedly abused after she was caught in bed with the justice minister, a close friend of the king.

Mswati had married the queen when she was 16 in 2005.


His Royal Highness, King Mswati III of Swaziland
The king has also come under fire for his household’s lavish lifestyle.

Mswati reportedly has a personal fortune of around $200 million and the UN estimates that 70 percent of his 1.2 million subjects live below the poverty line.