Swaziland

Ah Swaziland—mostly surrounded by South Africa, but also bordering Mozambique. Today we’re celebrating Swaziland’s Independence Day—locally known as Somhlolo Day. Independence from the United Kingdom arrived on this day in 1968. Unfortunately, not long after this—in 1973—a State of Emergency was declared, and while the government claims it has been lifted, political movements are still suppressed.

It’s an ancient country—by which I meant that there are artefacts indicating human presences for tens of thousands of years, with prehistoric rock paintings dating from around 25,000 BCE, but also evidence of very early human existence in the region—as in well over 100,000 years. More recently, this is another country that experienced a large influx of Bantu peoples—when the Ngwane people couldn’t match growing Zulu strength they moved north into what is now Swaziland, establishing what became the Swazi nation.

The British first became involved in the 19th century after Mswati II requested help from the British authorities in South Africa—trying to stem the tide of Zulu raids into Swaziland. after Mswati’s death the people made agreements with Britain and South African, and then the South African Republic established colonial rule over the country, over the objections of Swazi royalty. South Africa withdrew with the onset of the Boer War, but only a few years later the British came along and proclaimed their rule, separating Swaziland from the Transvaal Colony in 1906.

Sixty years later the United Kingdom were open to discussion on a new Swazi constitution, resulting in independence two years later. In 1973 King Sobhuza repealed the new constitution, dissolved parliament, outlawed political activity and trade unions. In 1979 a new parliament was brought about. With a new monarch, new disputes cropped up, and in 1984 the prime minister was replaced, before the Queen Regent was herself replaced. This struggle between pro-democracy voices and the monarchy has continued in the ensuing decades.

With this restriction of political activity, it’s not surprising then that Swaziland is 138th in the world in terms of the Press Freedom Index.

Finding a poem from Swaziland proved a challenge—again it’s a matter of translation. While English is an official language, SiSwati is dominant. The piece below is actually a fragment of a poem on a warrior king. I believe it is from an oral tradition—I found it online here.


Fragment on warrior king:
They are calling you, they are giving you a message/
King of the inner circle!
They are not calling you for nothing,
They are calling you to a war of nations, stabbing and killing.