Durban - Thousands of maidens will descend on KwaZulu-Natal for the annual uMkhosi Womhlanga/ Reed Celebration in Emachobeni Royal Palace.
The KZN Department of Arts and Culture led by MEC Hlengiwe Mavimbela has partnered with The Zulu Royal House to use this event to promote moral regeneration and social cohesion.
Some of the successes of this event include the education programme covering a variety of topics such as human trafficking awareness, career exhibition, moral regeneration and social cohesion among others.
The annual uMkhosi Womhlanga/ Reed Celebration will take place between 6 and 8 September.
This will be precluded by a session in Emachobeni Royal Palace which will take place between August 30 and September 1.
Over the years the celebration has attracted participants from Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State, Eastern Cape and neighbouring countries such as Kingdom of Eswatini.
According to the Tourism KZN website the Reed Dance festival depicts the rich cultural heritage of the Kingdom of the Zulu and celebrates the proud origin of the Zulu people.
The festival takes its name from the riverbed reeds, which are the central focus of this four-day event. The reed-sticks are carried in a procession by thousands of young maidens who are invited to the King's palace each year.
More than 10 000 maidens take part in the ceremony, with the rest of the Zulu nation helping them to celebrate their preparation for womanhood.
The festival is also an opportunity to show off their singing, dancing and beadwork, the fruits of many months of excitement and preparation.
The website explains that as the ceremony begins, the young women prepare to form a procession led by the chief princess. One of the daughters of the Zulu King is also the leader of the group of maidens as they go through this important rite of passage.
Each maiden carries a reed which has been cut by the riverbed and it symbolizes the power that is vested in nature. The reeds reflect a deep mythical connection with origin of the Zulu people where, tradition tells us, the original ancestor emerged from a reed bed.