Talk:Umhlanga

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By MASUKU NAB —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Selelo (talk • contribs) .


[edit] Wikified

Wikified as part of the Wikification wikiproject! JubalHarshaw 19:58, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Umhlanga: External news article v current Wiki entry re: "choice"

A news story from the Telegraph (UK) newspaper, published on their website, title and byline: "Swaziland King has eyes for 14th wife", By Sebastien Berger in Ludzidzini, Last Updated: 1:21am BST 03/09/2007; URL here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=APFZOTBWK34VBQFIQMFSFFWAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2007/09/03/wswazi103.xml

The relevant paragraph from the existing Wiki article: "The maidens do not gather specifically for the king and they are not forced to attend the ceremony. It is by choice that they attend the reed dance."

From the Telegraph article, the relevant paragraph that brings to my mind questions about the accuracy of the Wiki article's first paragraph that I quoted above, is the third to last paragraph. although opposition figures say rural families have no choice but to send their daughters to participate, as they can be fined a cow if they do not.
To pick nits, one could say they could choose to pay a cow. My understanding though is that this is a big ceremony, and all the girls of a village would go togther, and in practice they are expected to go. Wizzy…☎ 16:39, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

In addition, from a previous paragraph in the existing Wiki article: "The king is allowed to pick one of the maidens to be his bride."

And the fourth paragraph, last sentence from the Telegraph article amplifies my concerns about the accuracy of the current Wiki article, specifically affecting the second paragraph of the Wiki article [the king] is entitled to choose a new bride from among the maidens to add to his current 13 wives. It is an honour that cannot be refused.
The king being allowed to pick, and the girl not being able to refuse, are not mutually inconsistent. Wizzy…☎ 16:39, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Given the sensitive nature of the anomalies between the existing Wiki article and the Telegraph article, and given the fact that I could not with certainty quote the relevant portions of the Telegraph article in full, due to the GFDL licencing policies apparently overriding "fair use", I did not elect to edit the existing Wiki article, but posted this information in the Talk section for further discussion, as well as to provide me with a real-world exemplar on how Wiki edit policies actually work in the real world.

Theoacme 13:46, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

From the rural areas, very few families would object to their daughter marrying the king. I would go with your first change though. Go ahead, edit it, referencing the Telegraph. Wizzy…☎ 16:39, 3 September 2007 (UTC)