Gathering celebrates young Zulu boys and girls
During the event, young maidens were given blankets to keep them warm this winter.
Young Zulu maidens and boys braved the cold weather to attend a precursor to Umkhosi woMhlanga (Reed Dance) at the Phumza Sportsfield in KwaMachi under Umuziwabantu Municipality last Saturday.
According to the KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Thulasizwe Buthelezi, the event aimed to educate the next generation of boys and maidens about Zulu culture and heritage while emphasising the crucial fight against gender-based violence and other social ills.
Inkosi Ntamonde Machi of the Sibonda Traditional Council said the event was a success.
He said it was important to combine the two events, so that both girls and boys could be taught similar aspects at the same time.
Meanwhile, Buthelezi said what was special about the event was that it did not only focus on the maidens.
He said different traditional councils should host similar gatherings.
“We advocate for young boys not to be left out. They should also be taught how to carry themselves, how to aspire to be better men, treat women well and be better leaders. We want young maidens not to fear boys, but to know that they have brothers in the boys who live in their communities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sibusiso Luthuli of the Sibonda Traditional Council said they hosted the event because they felt young people were drifting away from the Zulu culture.
“We have been hosting the event for six years. We use it to remind young people of respect and the way things are done under the Sibonda Traditional Council,” he said.
The chairperson of traditional leaders in the Ugu District, Inkosi Mbuso Ngcobo, encouraged Amakhosi from different traditional councils to consider hosting such events for their communities.
During the event, Buthelezi gifted young maidens with blankets to keep them warm this winter.
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