ZULU king Goodwill Zwelithini has called on young men not to poke during Umkhosi Wokweshwama.
His spokesman Prince Thulani Zulu told Daily Sun yesterday the king was expected to address thousands of young men at Nyokeni Royal Palace in Nongoma, northern KZN, over the weekend.
He said the king used the ceremony as a boys’ version of the reed dance, attended by maidens.
The prince said the king wanted to do away with the perception that abstinence only applied to girls.
Zulu said amabutho, or warriors, would accompany the king.
The king was expected to emphasise men’s role in protecting women and kids.
“The king will talk sternly about gender-based violence,” he said.
He admitted, however, that the term was not there in the history of the Zulu nation.
“The king wants men to go back to basics where no man will touch a woman,” said Zulu.
He said the king’s main speech would take place on Saturday, as well as rituals which couldn’t be discussed in public.
The SunTeam understood brave amabutho would strangle a bull as part of the ceremony.
The event symbolises the annual harvest where the king tastes the first fresh food from the harvest, after which his subjects follow.
It was normal practice under Shaka’s rule but was banned by British rulers in 1879, following the defeat of King Cetshwayo, Shaka’s brother Mpande’s son. Zwelithini revived the practice in 1990.