Opening Swaziland’s Rich History

“I teach IB anthropology at Waterford KaMhlaba UWC, Swaziland,” writes Mlungisi Dlamini, Franklin & Marshall ’11 (Swaziland, KaMhlaba UWC).

“My students represent four continents, and study world cultures in the oldest surviving monarchy in sub-Saharan Africa. They encounter things central to public life—heroic poetry, ancestral ritual, clan identity, non-monetary economies—that are rare in the world and sidelined in most of Africa. Their multicultural perspectives engage on humanity’s pre-historical ancestors, some of whom left traces that survive in Swazi cultural practice and in the landscape around Waterford.

“The unique history of Swaziland makes it rich for scholarship. I record oral histories, digitize historical documents, and encourage my students to write on unexplored topics. I am working on my dream of an online portal to Swaziana: an index of competently reviewed academic and general interest articles, books, pictures, videos, maps, music etc.”