Umkhosi Womhlanga, also known as the Reed Dance Festival, was attended by thousands of Zulu indigenous people in order to present their reeds to King Misuzulu. This was done as a symbol of their victory over temptation and their unwavering determination to maintain their indigenous identity.
On Saturday, September 14, in Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, the Zulu nation cultural event was held at Enyokeni Royal Palace. The event was celebrating forty years since it was revived by King Zwelithini and Queen Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, who are the parents of King Misuzulu.
There is a test of virginity that the girls must go through before they can take the reeds to present to the king. The individual will be given a white dot on their forehead once it has been established that they are a virgin.
King Misuzulu was presented with reeds by thousands of virgins under the leadership of Zelamile Zulu, the royal princess of the Zulu people.
Top musicians Qwabe Twins, also known as Q Twins, who have attended the event numerous times in the past, also attended the festival as virgins and presented their reeds to King Misuzulu. They were also present at the festival.
They told the publication that they went to Umkhosi Womhlanga in order to celebrate their Zulu culture and their virginity.
The publication was informed by Virginia Qwabe that the presentation of their reeds to the king was a means of expressing their gratitude to their king and assuring him that there are still virgins among the Zulu people, similar to the thousands of other Zulu virgins.
The presentation of their reed to King Misuzulu, according to Viggy Qwabe, was a way to demonstrate that they are still engaging in the practice of their culture.
Because we are people who are interested in gaining more knowledge, Umkhosi Womhlanga is beneficial because it teaches us about our culture. As we have gained knowledge about Umkhosi Womhlanga, we have come to the realization that a great number of young women are surviving with it, and that we are also surviving through it,” she stated.
We are pleased that Umkhosi Womhlanga has been of assistance to a great number of young women as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. This event is responsible for the fact that some of the young women would not have been able to achieve the level that they are currently at. In addition to expressing gratitude for this occasion, we would like to wish Umkhosi Womhlanga a happy 40th birthday,” she said.
The virgins were encouraged by King Misuzulu to maintain their virginity, and he assured them that they would not need to worry about running out of men.