Eswatini

The Swazi nation formed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as the Dlamini royal clan, moving south and then north again under pressure from the expanding Zulu kingdom, absorbed Nguni and Sotho groups into a centralised state under a dual monarchy of a king (the Ngwenyama, "Lion") and a queen mother (the Ndlovukati, "She-Elephant").

In the late nineteenth century Swazi kings granted sweeping land and mineral concessions to Boer and British adventurers. The territory came under South African Republic and then, after the Boer War, British administration, becoming one of the "High Commission Territories." Unusually, the monarchy survived the colonial period with much of its authority and land base intact.

Swaziland became independent in 1968 under King Sobhuza II, who in 1973 repealed the constitution, banned political parties, and ruled by decree — a system his son Mswati III, on the throne since 1986, has largely maintained. In 2018 the king renamed the country Eswatini. Pro-democracy protests in 2021 were the most serious in decades and were met with force; calls for political reform continue.

Eswatini has one of the most intact traditional monarchies in Africa, and kingship, clan, and ceremony are central to national life. The two great annual events are the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, in which tens of thousands of unmarried young women cut and carry reeds to the queen mother's residence over several days of song and dance, and the Incwala, a weeks-long sacred kingship ritual around the summer solstice that renews the monarch and the nation.

Society is largely Christian, often blended with ancestral belief, and remains socially conservative. The extended homestead (umuti), respect for elders and chiefs, and communal land held in trust by the king through local chiefs shape rural life. Traditional healers (tinyanga and tangoma) are widely consulted.

Craft is a strength — Swazi candles, glass, mohair weaving, and basketry are sold across the region — and choral and gospel singing, sibhaca dance, and the colour of the ceremonies are the cultural showcases.

Most of Eswatini's roughly 1.2 million people live in rural homesteads on communally held "Swazi Nation Land," farming maize, keeping cattle — a store of wealth and status — and often depending on a family member's wage from town or from South Africa. Manzini is the commercial hub and Mbabane the administrative capital, both small.

The economy is closely tied to South Africa through the customs union and the currency peg, and rests on sugar (the largest export and employer), soft-drink concentrate, forestry, and textiles. Eswatini has one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates, though large treatment programmes have brought it under much better control, and poverty and youth unemployment are high.

Daily life follows the farming and school calendar, church on Sunday, the minibus to Manzini market, and the rhythm of the royal ceremonies that punctuate the year.

Swazi cooking is Southern African and maize-based. Sishwala, a stiff maize porridge, or its softer form, is the staple, eaten with a relish of beans, greens (imbhida), or stewed beef, chicken, or offal. Sitfubi (fermented maize) and emahewu, a lightly fermented maize drink, are traditional.

Beef features at ceremonies and family gatherings, often slaughtered on site; sidvudvu (pumpkin cooked with maize meal), groundnuts, sweet potato, and wild greens round out rural meals. Roadside grills serve braai meat, pap, and chakalaka relish, the shared regional fare.

Home-brewed sorghum and maize beer (umcombotsi) is drunk at gatherings and rituals; commercial lager and, from the local factory, soft drinks are widely available, along with strong sweet tea.

Eswatini's appeal is a lot of variety in a short drive. The Ezulwini and Malkerns valleys, between Mbabane and Manzini, form the tourist heart: craft markets and workshops (Swazi Candles, Ngwenya Glass, Baobab Batik), the Mantenga cultural village and falls, the House on Fire arts venue, and the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, a gentle reserve where you can walk, cycle, and ride among zebra, antelope, warthogs, and hippos.

In the eastern lowveld, Hlane Royal National Park has the country's lions, elephants, and white rhino on open plains, and the small, private Mkhaya Game Reserve is one of the best places in the region to see black rhino on foot with a ranger. To the northwest, Malolotja Nature Reserve is highland grassland and gorges with waterfalls, rare birds, and a zip-line canopy tour, next to the ancient Ngwenya iron-ore mine.

The ceremonies themselves — the Umhlanga in late winter and, for those with the right timing and permissions, the public days of the Incwala — are the most distinctive thing a visitor can witness.