Posted on 08/29/2005 8:02:33 PM PDT by F14 Pilot
Swaziland (Reuters) -- More than 50,000 bare-breasted virgins vied to become the king of Swaziland's 13th wife Monday in a ceremony that critics say ill befits a country with the world's highest HIV/AIDS rate.
King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, is due to attend the annual Reed Dance ceremony, which he has used since 1999 to pluck new brides from thousands of dancing girls dressed in little more than beads and traditional skirts.
Clad in short beaded skirts and colorful tasseled scarves and carrying machetes, the girls sang tributes to the king while marching around the royal stadium flanked by male minders dressed in animal skin loincloths.
"I want to live a nice life, have money, be rich, have a BMW and cell phone," said one dancer, 16-year-old Zodwa Mamba. "But the king will not choose me, I am too ugly."
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.
And some say the Reed Dance, traditionally meant to celebrate womanhood and virginity, has become little more than a showcase for the king's young would-be brides.
"The Reed Dance has been abused for one man's personal satisfaction," Mario Masuku, leader of the banned opposition party, told Reuters.
"The king has a passion for young women and opulence."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Gee, wonder what he missed in wife #12?
If one were to extrapolate the timeline required to examine 50,000 X 2 breasts with the median being, let's say 5 minutes per breast, how long would it take for this "king", "chief", "ruler",to make his choice?
The continent of Africa keeps getting darker.
Doesn't matter really in the end. See what happens when Hugh Heffner makes his annoucement for the next great Playboy playmate. Alpha male types all over the world regard sex the same way.
That tiny country is a mere dictatorship!
Keep the faith, Zodwa. After all, consider Hillary Clinton...
LOL!
Here's the American version - notice the delight of the young men behind her.
what the...ummmmmm wow.
Eight beers, two bags...
Damn; you beat me to it.
lol
Eldridge is the child that Ward never mentioned to Wally and the Beave.
"That tiny country is a mere dictatorship!"
Yes, but it's so typical of what the continent produces... famine, coups, and just plain weird stuff. This being in the weird stuff category.
That is a great photo. Life Magazine material!
even Monica wont dare do...///sarcasm
I'm thinking if the King will like this...:-)
Hahahah...Thanks for that photo..another item added to My Pictures database... Hilarious!
Helen Thomas, Barbara Mikulski and Maxine Watters just bought plane tickets!
You're welcome. The reactions of the guys behind her are too funny.
check post 27
dude im dying here!!!!
LOL
my wife is cracking up too!! That's too funny!
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