Swaziland Digital
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Swaziland Digital
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| 631. Umcwasho Maiden 1895 Photographer: Unknown Photo Source: National Archives This photo was taken at Mbekelweni in 1895. The photo shows a young woman before marriage, she is probably part of the umcwasho ritual where young maidens dance before the Queen Mother or Indlovukazi. Originally the ceremony was an age ranking ritual. After a number of years of wearing a large tassel signifying virginity young maidens were allowed to remove it as a member of a particular age group - this showed that they could be married. The photographer is unrecorded, but likely to be Joseph Raucher, because of the excellent quality of the original and he was in the region at the time. |
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Joseph Raucher: Photographer |