SWAZILAND

officially Kingdom of Swaziland, Swazi Umbuso Weswatini landlocked country in the eastern flank of South Africa, where it adjoins Mozambique. It is 6,704 square miles (17,364 square kilometres) in area and extends about 110 miles (175 kilometres) from north to south and about 80 miles from west to east at its largest dimensions. The name Swazi is the Anglicized name of an early king and nation builder, Mswati II, who ruled from 1840 to 1868. The administrative centre is Mbabane, the former capital of the British colonial administration; the national capital is the seat of King Mswati III and his mother, the Ndlovukati, some 11 miles from Mbabane, at Phondvo in the vicinity of Lobamba, where the houses of parliament and other national institutions are situated. officially Kingdom of Swaziland, Swazi Umbuso Weswatini landlocked country in southern Africa. The oval-shaped country is about 110 miles (175 km) long from north to south and about 80 miles (129 km) wide from east to west; it is bordered by South Africa on the north, west, and south and by Mozambique on the east. The administrative capital is Mbabane, and the legislative and royal capital is Lobamba. Area 6,704 square miles (17,364 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 882,000. Additional reading The physical and human geography of the country are described in Social Studies Atlas for Swaziland (1991); G. Murdoch, Soils and Land Capability in Swaziland (1968); Robert Harold Compton, The Flora of Swaziland (1976); Brian Allan Marwick, The Swazi (1940, reissued 1966), an ethnographic account; Hilda Kuper, An African Aristocracy: Rank Among the Swazi (1947), on the social life and institutions of the Swazi; Report on the 1986 Swaziland Population Census, vol. 4, Analytical Report (1991?); D.C. Funnell, Under the Shadow of Apartheid: Agrarian Transformation in Swaziland (1991); Christian P. Potholm, Swaziland: The Dynamics of Political Modernization (1972); and Alan R. Booth, Swaziland: Tradition and Change in a Southern African Kingdom (1983).Historical works include David Price Williams, Archaeology in Swaziland, South African Archaeological Bulletin, 35(131):1318 (June 1980); Peter B. Beaumont, The Ancient Pigment Mines of Southern Africa, South African Journal of Science, 69:140146 (May 1973); J.R. Masson, Rock-paintings in Swaziland, South African Archaeological Bulletin, 16:(64):128133 (December 1961); J.S.M. Matsebula, A History of Swaziland, 3rd ed. (1988); Carolyn Hamilton (ed.), In Pursuit of Swaziland's Precolonial Past (1990); Philip Bonner, Kings, Commoners, and Concessionaires: The Evolution and Dissolution of the Nineteenth-Century Swazi State (1983); and Hilda Kuper, Sobhuza II, Ngwenyama and King of Swaziland: The Story of an Hereditary Ruler and His Country (1978). John Richard Masson Administration and social conditions Government Executive authority is vested in the king and is exercised through a dual system of government. There is a cabinet of ministers appointed by the king and presided over by the prime minister. The cabinet advises the king and is responsible to a bicameral parliament. The House of Assembly comprises 50 members, of whom 40 are elected by an electoral college and 10 are appointed by the king. The Senate has 20 members, of whom 10 are elected by the House of Assembly and 10 are appointed by the king. The electorate consists of all citizens over the age of 18 grouped into 40 constituencies (tinkhundla), which each elect two members to an electoral college. Elections are held at no more than five-year intervals. There are no legally recognized political parties aside from the Imbokodvo National Movement. This formal system of government is paralleled by a less formal system of committees (amabandla) of other prominent members of the nation who advise the king directly. In addition, the Swazi National Council advises him on all matters regulated by Swazi Law and Custom and connected with Swazi traditions and culture. The civil service is structured into ministries, each headed by a minister appointed by the king. Other civil servants are appointed by the prime minister within the framework of a civil service board appointed by the king. There is also a judicial service commission responsible for the appointment of judges and magistrates. The judicial system comprises the Court of Appeal, with four members appointed by the king, the High Court, headed by a chief justice, and subordinate or magistrate's courts. There are also Swazi courts, two Swazi courts of appeal, and a higher Swazi appeal court, which is subordinate to the High Court. The Swazi courts hear cases only in which all those involved are Swazi and if the charges fall within a restricted list of criminal and civil matters. Local government is administered through four regional councils (Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, and Shiselweni) comprising the members of the electoral college and headed by regional administrators appointed by the king. Urban government operates under elected or appointed municipal councils (in Mbabane and Manzini) and town boards (in the smaller townships). Land ownership is one of the most sensitive issues in national life. Traditionally, all land is vested in the king in trust for the nation and allocated as communal land by the chiefs. In the late 19th century, however, much of the territory was alienated as land concessions to foreignersas owners according to them but as lessees according to the Swazi. One of the first tasks of the British crown when it assumed direct control of Swaziland in 1906 was to try to reconcile the rights of the Swazi with those of the concession holders. In 1907 it decided to reserve one-third of the country for Swazi use and to allow the concessionaires to retain two-thirds, but by World War II little progress had been achieved. The real impetus came at independence when all the crown lands became national land; shortly afterward Britain agreed to finance the repurchase of nearly one million acres. Other land was also purchased privately by the nation. Swazi Nation Land now constitutes about two-thirds of Swaziland. The remainder is held under individual title, but some of this is also under Swazi ownership, both nationally and individually. Education Schooling was introduced as a part of missionary activity in precolonial times, and missionaries continue to influence the education system. The Swazi nation itself set up schools as early as 1906, and a number of chiefs established what were known as tribal schools. However, it was only after independence that the coverage of primary and secondary schools began to increase dramatically and to enable more than 80 percent of the school-age population to attend full-time. As a result, illiteracy is declining steadily. State education is not free, and school fees constitute a major financial commitment for parents. There are also teacher-training and vocational and industrial training centres, as well as a university. Cultural life Despite the changes wrought by the money economy, by a high degree of literacy and basic education, and by steadily improving living standards and changing life-styles, tradition continues to play an important role in Swazi society, both at the national ceremonial level and in day-to-day personal contacts. This reflects the unity of the Swazi as one nation under a traditional leader and especially their reverence for the struggle of King Sobhuza II over the 61 years of his reign to regain their independence. The two main cultural events are the Incwala in December and the Umhlanga in August. The Incwala is sometimes described as a first-fruits ceremony, but, spread over six days, it is a much more complex ritual of renewing and strengthening the kingship and the nation, with songs and dances used only on this occasion. The Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, brings together the maidens of the country to cut reeds for the annual repairs to the windbreaks of the queen mother's village; it lasts for five days. It is also symbolic of the unity of the nation and of its perpetuation through the massed ranks of young women. Both ceremonies are held at the national capital of the queen mother. Other ceremonies are associated with the communal weeding and harvesting of the king's fields (and those of the chiefs) and with customary marriages. Most ceremonies are accompanied by traditional music, songs, and dancing. Musical instruments are simple in design, a kudu horn (impalampala) used for hunting or herding cattle, a calabash attached to a bow (umakweyane) for love songs, the reed flute, played by small boys while herding, and rattles made of seedpods attached to the wrists and ankles. However, more typical of the homestead nowadays are the radio and record and tape players.