And so to the Kingdom of Swaziland, the country of my childhood.
I lived there as a child, until the age of about 11 – the age my son is now.
I can still clearly remember attending independence celebrations at the age of 5 when Swaziland was granted independence from Britain.
We learnt from Wikipedia that Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV/Aids in the world.
On Youtube we watched the reed dances and talked about how the young virgins come every year to dance for the king. As a polygamist, very often he will select a new wife from among the young virgins.
We discussed the Sangoma and Inyanga – traditional diviners and healers. The Sangoma is the diviner who will often go into a trance, and is consulted on matters of death and crimes. The Inyanga is a herbalist and pharmacist – a traditional healer.
Swaziland is rich in the creative arts, and we ‘visited’ the Swazi candle factory, where the most stunning decorated candles are crafted, and also watched a Youtube video of glass blowing at the Ngwenya Glass Factory.
We plan to make some Swazi food for supper this evening.
We will enjoy Harira, a mutton dish. These are the directions for making it:
Ingredients
- 1 pound mutton
- 1 quart boiling water
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- cooked rice
- cooked chickpeas
- one spring parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper
Directions
- Cut mutton in small pieces and roll into balls.
- Place in pot of boiling water.
- Add butter and simmer two hours.
- After you put the butter add remaining ingredients.
- Cook and mix often until the mixture boils again.
- Then roast ten minutes.
- Serve it very hot in rice bowls.
On the side, we will add an avocado salad, with lemon juice, and spiced with ginger.
YUM!! Sounds good!
NEXT STOP: Mozambique
Of Right Mind 