The kingdom of Eswatini is a small country in Southern Africa. The beautiful landlocked country celebrated its 50th year of independence earlier this year.
Formerly known as Swaziland, the reigning King, King Mswati III officially changed the name of the country to Eswatini which means land of the Swazis. The King is one of the few absolute monarchs in the world, making him not only the king of the people but also the overseer of the country’s political and governmental issues.
The Swazi nation is an amalgamation of over 70 clans. Their chiefs form the traditional hierarchy under the ngwenyama and ndlovukazi, who are of the largest clan, the Dlamini.
The amalgamation brought together clans already living in the area that is now Eswatini, many of whom were of Sotho origin, and clans of Nguni origin who entered the country with the Dlamini in the early 19th century. Traditional administration and culture are regulated by an uncodified Swazi Law and Custom, which is recognized as both constitutionally and judicially.
The language is siSwati, which is akin to Zulu, though it shares official status with English, which is in fact used for official written communication. Cows are more valuable than a piece of land and can acquire property rather than pay in cash.
They are also used to paying the bride price, and a groom is expected to present his wife to be’s family with a good number of healthy cows and gallons of fresh milk from the cows which will be used in the marriage ritual and celebration. Because cows are very much revered in parts of Eswatini, it is believed that women are not physically or spiritually strong and thus are not worthy to eat cow meat.
For many, they believe that once a woman eats the flesh of a cow, she becomes smarter, wiser, and more aware of the realities of life. It is taboo for women to eat cow meat, especially the intestine and brain, to prevent her from becoming smarter than men.
It is strongly believed that once women are given the privilege of eating cow meat, they will come at par with men and spoke rudely to them, and also lose respect for them. If a woman eats the tongue of a cow, she develops a sharp mouth and talks anyhow to her husband, brother, and fathers.
They also prevent women from eating cow’s feet so they do not develop masculine strength or the courage to walk out of men or run away from their marital homes. During wedding ceremonies, which are known as untsimba, cows play a very significant role.
Several cows are killed and cooked and they allow the groom to feed his bride with specific parts of the cow in tiny quantity, however, she is never given the foot, intestine, or brain.
The ritual gives good luck and strength to the new bride and it is, most likely, the last time she will ever taste the flesh of a cow if she has been lucky enough to have done so.
