Reed dance goes virtual at Innes Free Park
The pandemic has cost us dearly and we have lost a handful of girls in our groups.
A group of maidens from Alexandra who could not attend this year’s Zulu traditional ceremony, Umkhosi woMhlanga hosted a mini-reed dance at Innes Free Park in Sandton on 5 September and sent videos to the king.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year has forced the organisers of different national and local events to postpone or hold their events virtually.
And the Zulu ceremony in which thousands of maidens carry reeds to King Goodwill Zwelithini at Enyokeni Palace in Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal was no exception.
The event in which participating maidens are expected to undergo a virginity test was held virtually and only a few maidens were allowed to participate in this year’s ceremony.
Palesa Ndou (18) from Alexandra, one of the participants of the Sandton mini-reed dance said the Covid-19 lockdown that was introduced in March this year had forced some maidens to fall into temptation and lose their virginity.
“It is sad that this year we could not go under regular virginity tests due to Covid-19 restrictions. Some of our peers could not resist temptations during the lockdown period. We also missed the opportunity to participate in this year’s event at Enyokeni Palace where we get renewed strength and council from King Zwelithini.”
Philisile Mpungose, a maidens coordinator said, “This year, we could not conduct virginity tests because of Covid-19 restrictions. The pandemic has cost us dearly and we have lost a handful of girls in our groups. It was difficult to coordinate the groups because we were not allowed to meet due to lockdown regulations.”
