August 30, 2005

Thousands of topless virgins vie to become wife of Swaziland's king

In a surreal scene, more than 50,000 topless virgins participated in a contest to see who would be chosen as the 13th wife of Swaziland's 37 year-old king this week.

King Mswati III, sub-Saharan AfricaÂ’s last absolute monarch, arrived dressed in a leopard-skin loincloth to watch the Reed Dance ceremony, which he has used since 1999 to pluck new brides from the girls dressed in little more than beaded mini-skirts.

Wielding machetes and singing tributes to the king and queen mother, also known as the Great She-Elephant, the girls danced around the royal stadium in the hope of catching the eye of the 37-year-old monarch.

Critics say Mswati, who has courted controversy for his lavish lifestyle while two thirds of his subjects live in abject poverty, sets a bad example by encouraging polygamy and teenage sex in a country where 40 percent of adults live with HIV.

As opposed to working to cut the instances of HIV, this guy takes multiple wives.

Just damn.

Posted by: mhking at 07:21 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 One could say that he is cutting his risk of HIV.

Posted by: B.P. at August 30, 2005 09:47 AM (oyhws)

2 He's cutting SOMETHING all right...

Posted by: Michael at August 30, 2005 09:50 AM (bJ0qq)

3 Maybe he's doing a service by keeping 13 women from acquiring and retransmitting the disease to countless males who would pass it on to countless females.

Posted by: The Owner's Manual at August 30, 2005 10:32 AM (ji/Cc)

Posted by: Kaish at January 21, 2012 02:16 PM (Y/P90)

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