"You learn and learn and learn…. and then you are an adult": parental perceptions of adolescence in contemporary Swaziland

Adolescence, Summer, 2003 by Margaret Zoller Booth

Traditionally the siSwati language has reflected Swazi beliefs regarding the importance of age. Thus, while there is no general term for adolescent, the language does differentiate between younger and older boys and girls. Furthermore, the terminology not only reflects their approximate age, but more importantly, their role in society. As shown in Table 1, the terminology is the same for both boys and girls until the third stage, when their ears are ritually cut and they begin to learn their gender-related duties. According to Marwick, the fourth stage for both males and females begins when they start to "show signs of adolescence," thus |inking this stage to pubertal development (Marwick, 1966, p. 69). From this point on, the stages are more differentiated, especially for females (see Table 1).

The various stages reflect the military and hunting responsibilities of men and the reproductive role of women. Early anthropological reports by both Kuper and Marwick, supplemented by more recent research by Russell (1993) and McLean (1995), have revealed a society which places greater importance on childbearing and continuance of the patrilineal line than on premarital virginity. The activities of the later teenage years for both males (lijaha) and females (lichikiza) emphasize the importance of learning lovemaking and preparing for the later adult roles of husband and wife (see Table 1). While it is preferable for children to be born after marriage, children born as a result of these unions are easily incorporated into society. According to Russell, "the very smoothness with which the birth of children to the unmarried is accomplished in Swaziland suggests that the phenomenon is much older, and normal rather than pathological in Swazi society" (p. 46). Furthermore, she states that there are "well-understood rules for allocating responsibility for children outside marriage, within the existing homestead structure" (p. 47).

According to Marwick, the male stage of lijaha and female stage of lichikiza are designed purposefully to prepare these young Swazi for the later stage of"complete manhood and womanhood--marriage." But at this time, Marwick states, "they have now passed out of childhood into manhood and womanhood, and their horizon is extended from that of the household to the wider one of tribal life" (p. 70). Traditionally, at this time they also go through rites of passage symbolizing their maturity and preparation for adulthood. Kuper (1947) referred to the umcwasho ceremony as a means to honor young virgins and "is spoken of as sika sabantfwana (a custom of children) or kubakhulisa (to make them grow up)" (p. 131). This ceremony (which ends in a ritual dance, singing, and feasting) emphasizes the desire for young maidens to be virgins, but with the understanding that as they "grow up" this will change.

Similarly, the males go through the iNcwala or "first fruits ceremony." This is designed to honor the Swazi king and additionally symbolizes the maturing of these boys into men. According to Matsebula (1988), this ceremony also celebrates the beginning of love relationships which these young men will have, but emphasizes the importance of acquiring a lover who has not yet conceived a child, with virginity being of secondary importance. According to Armstrong and Nhlapo (1985), regulations regarding parentage are particularly important as a result of inheritance laws. Thus, virginity is significant to the extent that one's paternity is certain and thus the child's inheritance is not in dispute. If a woman should conceive a child before marriage and her husband is not the biological father, the biological father can claim the child whenever he is prepared to pay the requisite fine.