THE ESWATINI EXPERIENCE

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After another early morning and breakfast we started our drive towards the border of Eswatini and South Africa again, towards Kruger National Park.

Before long, we stopped to visit the Ngwenya glass factory, where we watched the talented glass blowers create a range of enchanting African animals, birds, and fish, as well as tableware, made from recycled glass that is collected by the children of eSwatini. Although I have watched glass blowers at work before, it was interesting to see how well this large operation synchronized their work.

They produced some very nice objects, mostly depicting some of the animals we had just seen, but I was deterred from buying any because of the weight of any of the bigger pieces. It was a consideration while traveling, specially since most flights have a weight limit, and it was lower in some of the internal flights. Whilst some of my fellow travelers ended up purchasing additional luggage and bags to carry their multiple purchases, I decided to stick with only things that absolutely caught my attention. Also, I made sure to not get attached to any item that I didn't have a place for.

Another border crossing, and we were immediately entering the Matsamo Cultural Village. What seemed to be an old family compound has been turned into a living museum. It was a delightful experience that showcased the traditional way of living of previous generations.

Our guide at the village, a charming 31 year old who was the 19th child of her polygamous father, explained the very specific placement of the huts as well as the role of the members of the family. She claimed that herself and some of her siblings still lived at the village, which is possible since we saw several people coming in and out of an area that had at least one updated and well maintained hut.

She started with the "grandmother" central hut, the most powerful person in the family, to the arrangement of the chief's hut, and the primary and secondary wives'. Also the upbringing of the children who first lived with their mother until age six, and then transferred to the grandmother until adulthood when they moved to either the male or female huts, strictly placed according to tradition.

The bride price tradition is still in practice, although these days the price doesn't necessarily have to be actual cows, and it can be the cash equivalent of however many cows the family has set on the girl. Our guide said her bride price was 15 cows. But, at least, these days the girl gets to consent to the marriage instead of being arranged into it.

She even explained the protocol for the patriarch's visitations to his wives' huts. No wife was allowed to visit his hut. Whether that's still a practice today I do not know.

Afterwards, we were entertained with traditional singing and dancing. Their chorus group has participated in many competitions and was actually preparing to enter another one. They sang some African songs that I really enjoyed, and even interjected a bit of gospel. The dancing was fun, specially when they picked some of the members of the audience for a very fun lesson.

We had lunch at the village's eating area, traditional Swazi food cooked in large pots over open fires. Chicken and beef stews, a dish of white corn, and rice, plus a couple of other vegetables that I didn't try. I was discouraged by our tour director to attempt sampling the local homemade beer. Since the same people seemed to change roles throughout the experience and were now dispensing the food and tending the tables, I'm leaning towards thinking it was a family business mostly comprised of the grandmother, two wives, and most if not all all of the twenty-five siblings and their spouses.

We still had a long distance to travel. It was already dark when we arrived at our Hotel, the latter part of the drive watching the sun set over extensive banana plantations.





Even arriving in the dark our hotel was impressive, and I wished we had time to relax by the beautiful outdoor bar and deck, but we quickly checked in, and went to dinner before retiring to our rooms, exhausted. But we had two nights at this hotel, and I was very happy for that.

This hotel was perfect for this setting. It was very large, with multiple walkways connecting the areas, and utilizing as much as possible the outdoors. It made me think of a giant African hut. The main restaurant was a "Boma," an outdoor circular area surrounded by a bamboo fence, with a large fire pit in the middle. The food was very nice too, with a large buffet set out, plus a station where foods that changed nightly were being cooked. One night pasta dishes, the second was stir fry.

Breakfast was served at a second restaurant, partly enclosed, partly on a veranda.

The pool area and decking with an outdoor bar overlooking a river bed was stunning, and the surrounding monkeys provided a fun distraction,

And, most convenient, it was barely about five minutes from one of the nine gates into Kruger National Park, where we were doing a full day of game drives the next day.

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Photos

Glass Factory
Around the grounds

Border Crossing
I guess the new name hasn't made it to the signs yet

Matsamo
Our guide, Patricia. Still single because she wants to make sure that she's the first wife. Her bride price is 15 cows. The skirt she's wearing signifies she's single.

Matsamo
An area where people were coming in and out from.

Matsamo
A dwelling in much better condition that some of the others.

Matsamo
Entrance to the "grandmother's" hut.

Matsamo
The grandmother's hut.