20,000 naked women dance for the king
LUDZIDZINI ROYAL VILLAGE, Swaziland (Reuters) - Thousands of young women bared their breasts and danced in Swaziland in the hope of trading a life of poverty for one of royal comfort as one of King Mswati’s many wives.
The 36-year-old king picks a new bride each year at the Reed Dance in a royal ritual that is defended by traditionalists as a time-honored piece of the nation’s cultural fabric.
But Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, who has 11 wives and a fiancee, has drawn criticism for his lavish lifestyle in the small southern African kingdom fighting poverty and drought and ravaged by HIV AIDS.
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on 09/01 at 07:43 AM
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