THE Zulu royal family is preparing to perform a cleansing ceremony in June for the wives of late king, Goodwill Zwelithini.
The ceremony will allow the king’s five surviving wives to set aside their mourning dresses.
Traditional prime minister Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi announced that the ceremony would take place on 16, 17 and 18 June.
“We remind the nation that the shortness of the mourning period is in compliance with instructions of the late king, who had said we shouldn’t wait for a long time as he wanted people to be able to work and plant,” said Buthelezi.
The end of the mourning period will allow new King Misuzulu to have a traditional wedding and for his coronation to take place.
According to Zulu culture, the wives of a king wear navy dresses and avoid many of their duties during the mourning period.
“There will be a cleansing ceremony for the whole nation (ihlambo) next year,” Buthelezi told Daily Sun.
Meanwhile, the Pietermaritzburg High Court on 21 May adjourned the urgent application filed by the late king’s daughters Princess Ntandoyenkosi and Princess Ntombizosuthu to stop the coronation.
Judge Rishi Seegobin adjourned the matter without judgment to allow respondents to file their affidavits before 18 June. Zwelithini’s first wife, Queen Sibongile, is also still demanding 50% of his estate.
Dr Gugu Mazibuko, a cultural expert based at the University of KZN, told Daily Sun the standard mourning period of the Zulu nation is one year.
“If someone requests a short mourning period it’s allowed when it comes to mourning dresses as they’re a foreign mourning sign.
“Normally, the Zulu nation observes a mourning period by avoiding some activities and performing others like cutting their hair.
“There’s nothing wrong with it if the late king requested that the nation and his wives don’t mourn for a year because he had his reasons.”
