Swazi

A photograph of a Swazi man, taken in the 1970s. The man is singing as he plays a musical bow with a gourd resonator. Traditionally a warrior race, the Swazi form the majority Bantu group of people in Swaziland in South Africa.

Member of the majority Bantu group of people in Swaziland. The Swazi are primarily engaged in cultivating and raising livestock, but many work in industries in South Africa. The Swazi language belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family.

Until the end of the 19th century, the Swazi, under their king, were organized into age regiments which fought in the eastern part of South Africa. Today this structure remains but has been neutralized by the South African government.

Political and religious power was traditionally divided between the king and the queen mother, and the ancestors were respected.