Reed Dance

A traditional event taking place in Swaziland, the Reed Dance is a dance where Swaziland's maidens are supposed to congregate and dance for the king. The young women wear beads, short skirts and long tassels. Most are bare-breasted (foreign photographers at the event have recently been restricted, as pictures of the maidens have in the past been used for pornographic purposes). The maidens are supposed to be virgins, but in practice many are simply young, unmarried women without children.

The king (currently Mswati III) is allowed to pick one of the maidens to be his bride. He currently has nine wives and two fiancees.