September, In September each year nothing draws crowds more than the Zulu Reed Dance Festival. Once a year, thousands of people flock to one of His Majesty, the King of the Zulu nation's royal residence at KwaNyokeni Palace.

Here, in Nongoma, early every September month, young Zulu maidens will take part in a colourful cultural festival, the Royal Reed Dance festival - or Umkhosi woMhlanga in the Zulu language. This year the Reed Dance promises to sustain its style as an exhilarating, colourful and one of the most awe-inspiring South African events to watch. No visitor to KwaZulu Natal during this period can afford to miss the Reed Dance.

For visitors to KwaZulu-Natal, the Reed Dance festival offers the unique opportunity to experience the natural beauty and majesty of the Kingdom of the Zulu, combined with the vibrant spectacle of Zulu cultural life. The road to the Reed Dance festival runs north from the city of Durban, and winds through the green lushness of the North Coast sugar-belt, skirting through the Kingdom's world-renowed wildlife reserves of Zululand and Maputaland.

Finally, it leads into the gently rolling hills and valleys of Zululand, a landscape rich with the silent memories of the heroic clashes of the Anglo-Zulu War, which took place more than 100 years ago.

Steeped in the history of the rise of the Zulu kingdom under the great King Shaka, the Reed Dance festival has been tirelessly celebrated by countless generations. A dignified traditional ceremony, the Reed Dance festival is at same time a vibrant, festive occasion, which depicts the rich cultural heritage of the Kingdom of the Zulu and celebrates the proud origin of the Zulu people.

RITUAL CELEBRATION
The festival takes its name from the riverbed reeds, which are the central focus of this four-day event. The reed-sticks are carried in a procession by thousands of young maidens who are invited to the King's palace each year.

More than 10 000 maidens, from various communities throughout the province of KwaZulu- Natal, take part in the Reed Dance ceremony, with the rest of the Zulu nation helping them to celebrate their preparation for womanhood.

It is a great honour for the young women to be invited to take part in the Reed Dance ceremony, and it's also a source of great dignity and pride for their families and communities.

According to Zulu traditon, only virgins are permitted to take part in the festival to ensure that they are ritually 'pure'.

Colourful Occasion
The Reed Dance festival is a solemn occasion for the young women, but also an opportunity to show off their singing, dancing and beadwork, the fruits of many months of excitement and preparation.

The women of KwaZulu-Natal make some of the finest beadwork in Africa, and the Reed Dance is an especially vibrant and colourful occasion on account of the rich beadwork on display. For visitors to the Reed Dance, this exquisite handiwork can provide a unique souvenir or gift to take home. From each region in the Kingdom comes a distinctive craft tradition, and the colours, patterns and styles of the beadwork luxuriantly displayed by the young women, as both ornaments and clothing attest to the region of origin of the craftwork.

HANDING OVER THE REED
As the Reed Dance ceremony begins, the young women prepare to form a procession led by the chief princess. One of the daughters of the Zulu King is also the leader of the group of maidens as they go through this important rite of passage.

Each maiden carries a reed which has been cut by the riverbed and it symbolizes the power that is vested in nature. The reeds reflect a deep mythical connection with origin of the Zulu people, where, tradition tells us, the original ancestor emerged from a reed bed.

In everyday use, these reeds are the building material For the typical domed or beehive hut, iqhugwane, which is found particularly in rural homesteads throughout KwaZulu-Natal. Zulu mythology has it that if a young woman who is not a virgin takes part in the Reed Dance ceremony, her reed will break and embarrass her in full public view!

And still, today an expectant hush falls on the crowd as the chief princess is the first to choose a reed. Shouts of joy and celebration greet her as the reed remains intact, and, with bated breath, each of the young women takes it in turn to choose a reed.

Accompanied by jubilant singing and dancing, the stately procession winds its way up the hill to the palace entrance where the king awaits, flanked by his royal regiment.

As leader of the group of young women, the chief Princess kneels down before the king and presents him with a reed to mark the occasion, before joining the young women in a joyful dance of tribute to the king.

REGAL AFFAIR
In recent times, however, the King has fittingly used the Reed Dance festival as an opportunity to educate the Zulu nation, and particularly the youth, focusing on vital social issues such as practicing sexual morals and behaviours which prevent teenage pregnancy and lower the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The people of the Zulu nation are world famous for their impressive dancing and singing skills, and the dancing of the young women who perform for the King at the Reed Dance festival is both graceful and powerful.

By paying tribute to the king in this way, the Zulu nation, represented by the young women, bestows on the king the symbolic power to rule over the Zulu kingdom and its loyal subjects in the year to come.

To demonstrate his gratitude, the king responds with a sacrifice to the royal ancestors on behalf of all the young women and their communities throughout the Kingdom.

The chief princess, who wears the inyongo, the gall bladder of the principal sacrificial animal, which is a symbol of purity and an important symbol in any Zulu ritual, leads the procession from the palace.

Speeches and performers entertain the Zulu Royal family and their guests, the local Inkosi's and their subjects and other spectators. And , as the ceremony draws to a close, the King joins in the dancing and singing in celebration of the successful enactment of a traditional ceremony which has endured for centuries.

Even when it is not September a visit to the Kingdom of the Zulu any time of the year, will afford the visitor a glimpse of the rich cultural life of the Zulu people from exquisite craftwork to powerful dancing and singing, in traditional rural homesteads and in the vibrant urban township settlements

September 27 to September 30, Southern Africa's longest trade platform the South African International Trade Exhibition, SAITEX celebrates its 13th Expo at Gallagher estate from September 27 to September 30.

The exhibition showcases some of South Africa's top exhibitors and their international counterparts. The traders include manufacturers and merchandise traders, importers, exporters and trade management service providers in government, finance and business.

Since its inception in 1993, SAITEX has successfully promoted increasing trade between the world and South African and African companies.

Working in strategic partnership with South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry (the DTI) and the Gauteng Economic Development Agency (GEDA), SAITEX is resolutely focused on constantly improving the experience of the brand for our partners, exhibiting organisations and quality trade visitors from around the world.

SAITEX is known for providing a first-class platform enabling export, import, development and investment opportunities.

Specialty Food and Beverage Showcase

This trade-only exhibition is an event designed to showcase specialty food manufacturers and processors from all over the world alongside an international array of vignerons, wine estates and spirit distilleries.

Held parallel to SAITEX, exhibitors will be exposed to more than 6000 exporters and importers with well established trade networks throughout Africa and the world.

For more information about SAITEX visit www.mbendi.co.za

20-23 October 2005, The highlight on Gautengs’s culinary calendar, the Good Food and Wine Show, takes place at Gallagher Estate. Take your tastebuds around the world in 80 ways! It’s still the internationally acclaimed Gauteng Good Food & Wine Show, only this year, it comes in a hot new range of flavours! From October 20 to 23, Gallagher Estate will be the centre of the world as our finest culinary expo takes on a new global perspective.

Products & Exhibitions
The Good Food & Wine Show is the heart of the Gourmet Festival. An acclaimed four-day culinary Expo with hands-on workshops, demonstrations, the face of future kitchens, fresh produce, wines, oysters, kiddies cookery classes... The Show features everything culinary from around the world... under the African sun.

Chefs In Action Theatre
Visitors can sit back and enjoy the hottest cooking tips and savvy secrets when the exceptional line-up of top international chefs cook up a storm in the Chefs In Action Theatre. State of the art kitchens and equipment, and top quality food products from Pick 'n Pay's Choice. See the First-ever South African Energy Saving Kitchen in action.

Picardi Rebel Food & Wine Pairing Theatre
Each participant, seated classroom style is given a range of wines and a platter of delicious tapas and explained the art of food and wine pairing by qualified Cape Wine Masters.

Hands-on Workshops
32 visitors will be supplied with their own utensils, equipment and pre-prepped ingredients where they can enjoy a 1.5 hour module of cooking Hands-on with the world’s finest cast of celebrity chefs.

Distell Brandy Tasting Theatre
See and experience the new taste of brandy. Brandy is set to become the new whisky of the 21st century, a drink for the yuppies and the trendy. This theatre depicts that image, a modern lounge style environment where you can sample and enjoy the full range of brandies that Distell has to offer.

Voyage of Discovery
It’s going to be a dynamic voyage of discovery…for your tastebuds and your travel bugs. Food, wine and travel – the good things in life, all found at the Good Food & Wine Show, Gallagher Estate, Gauteng, from October 20 to 23, 2005.

For more information visit http://www.gourmetsa.com

Source: www.events.siyabona.com