More than 5,000 people attended the ceremony, which took place at the Ludzidzini royal village in Lobamba, to witness this momentous milestone.
Nomcebo Zuma, 21, the 56-year-old King’s 16th wife, was seen engaging in the reed dance, a custom that involves young women gathering to sing and dance for the king while baring their chests.
A royal concubine or fiancee, or liphovela, is a woman who dances for the king. They wield imitation swords and shields and dress in traditional garb, such as anklets and thick, colorful tassels.
The Umhlanga, a days-long reed dance, is praised as an illustration of Eswatini’s “graceful” culture. King Mswati III, who has controlled the 1.2 million-person nation since 1986, is no stranger to selecting younger brides for marriage.
A number of the king’s marriages have reportedly garnered media attention because of the age difference and his contentious rule.
According to a BBC report from 2005, the King met 17-year-old Phindile Nkambule at a reed dance and proposed to her as his thirteenth fiancée. He had apparently noticed her during the major dance the month before.
A few days prior to that occasion, there were rumors that the monarch, in an attempt to combat HIV/AIDS, had lifted his ban on having intercourse with and with females under the age of 18. But two months after enforcing the prohibition in 2001, Mswati punished himself severely for disobeying his own directive and marrying a 17-year-old for the eighth time.
With political parties outlawed and elected officials serving only as advisors, the King rules the people by edict. His kingdom has come under fire for organizing elaborate rituals and leading a luxury lifestyle while the vast majority of people live in extreme poverty.
Given that her father, Jacob Zuma, had more than 20 women and several children, Nomcebo Zuma was born into a polygamous household.
