Word: sobhuza
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When King Sobhuza II of Swaziland died in 1982 after 61 years on the throne, the people of that tiny southern African kingdom lamented, Umntfwana sowuphumulile: the child has gone to rest. Now the slogan of the day in Swaziland (pop. 800,000) is a much more cheerful Umntfwana sowukhulile: the child has grown into...
...object of that acclaim is Sobhuza's strong-willed son and successor, Mswati III, at 19 the world's youngest reigning monarch. Five years after his father's death, Mswati has finally shown that he can use his full regal powers with a vengeance. So far this year he has arrested a dozen high Swazi officials, including five members of the royal family, on suspicion of sedition and treason. Says a Swazi journalist in Mbabane, the capital: "Mswati is clearly angry at the intrigue that took place following his father's death and is determined to put things right...
Some of that intrigue almost seems inspired by the early reign of Louis XIV of France. Mswati, formerly known as Prince Makhosetive, officially took the throne in April of last year. For the four previous years, Swaziland had been ruled by a regent, initially Queen Dzeliwe, one of Sobhuza's 50 or more wives, though not the mother of the current King. In 1983 Prince Mfanasibili, a powerful member of the Liqoqo, or royal advisory council, masterminded Dzeliwe's ouster and replaced her with Ntombi, mother of the young King-to-be. Mfanasibili then talked the new Queen regent into...
...meantime, Mswati has demonstrated that despite his British schooling, Swazi tribal tradition has a strong hold on him. Mswati was one of at least 67 sons of Sobhuza, who had as many as 200 children -- the exact number is a royal secret -- and who died at 83 as the world's oldest reigning monarch (Emperor Hirohito of Japan, at 86, is now the oldest). At last year's coronation, the chiefs of Swaziland paid a total of 105 cattle to the family of Mswati's mother Ntombi as a dowry for the woman who was to become the mother...
When the late King Sobhuza was angry, his subjects used to say, "The lion is aroused." According to royal aides, Mswati likewise displays a natural imperiousness. Several advisers who have seen the young King in high dudgeon have given him the sobriquet "Fire Eyes." Like his father, Mswati is clearly determined to have a king-size family. He has three wives already, and at this week's annual reed-dance ceremony, in which Swazi maidens take part in a topless parade, he may be induced to choose a fourth...