swazi :: essays papers

swaziThe Swazi of Swaziland IntroductionSwazis ar said to belong to the Nguni people who lived in central Africa and migrated to southern Africa. They spill the beans the Siswati language , a language earlier spoken by the Nguni company of the Bantu family. They seem to have settle in Swaziland around v hundred years ago. They were then ruled by the British from the mid(prenominal) 19th century to mid 20th century. Swaziland is a monarchy and is ruled by King Mswati III. Social OrganizationThe social organization in the Swazis is like any other African tribe. The homestead is the stinting and domestic unit of the family. It is headed by the Umnumza or foreman who is in charge up of the family which includes his wives and children. Sons will bring there wives to the homestead and setup home indoors it while the daughters move to their in-laws. The occupants who reside in the homestead can withal be distant relatives or non dependents. Therefore the number of p eople for whom the headman is responsible economically ,legally and by ritual may vary fit his status and wealth. A wealthy headman may have many an(prenominal) wives therefore he has a large number of people he is responsible for. The headman usually would subdivide the large homestead in order to gain devil to larger tracts of cultivable land or divide quarrelsome wives .The homestead is planned according to the relationships between its inhabitants . normally in the center of the homestead is the cattle pen and grain memory units, which are underground flask shaped pits. Women are not allowed access to theses places. The living quarters are grouped in a hemicycle with the indlunkuku ( great hut) which is home to the most important woman in the homestead , the mother of the headman. If she is dead then a substitute mother is appointed. On the sides are the quarters of the wives , for each one with her own sleeping ,cooking and storage huts and enclosed with a r eed fence for protection against wind . The ranking of wives is not hard but it depends on the headman and his preference of wives. the clear demarkation of the wives huts and the fact that each of them own their own garden land and cattle does not eat the fact that the headmans mothers house is supreme.