BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– Tourists came in numbers to attend the Buganu ceremony and left amazed by the Eswatini culture.
Interviewed at the Buhleni Royal residence on the second day of the annual ceremony, tourists from Mozambique described their experience as ‘marvelous’, stating that they would definitely be back in the country soon.
“This has been an amazing experience for us because this is an experience we don’t have back home. This is the first time I’m attending and this is because we were invited by a friend that works in Eswatini. We have only been to Eswatini once for Bushfire, but after today, this will definitely be one of the events we attend on an annual basis now,” said Carlos Alberto who was traveling with five friends.
Damilola Adesanya from Coates Valley said she always invited friends over for various cultural activities in the country.
“Well, as a Mozambican born in Eswatini and having schooled in Waterford KaMhlaba, I have friends and family scattered all over the globe, and usually, we have the over for separate festivals from Umhlanga to Incwala. So, this time, I brought my Mozambican friends who are usually here for Bushfire to come and have a feel of the Buganu Festival and they have clearly been having a great time,” she said.
Meanwhile, Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Linda Nxumalo said Eswatini is a unique country in every sense, its culture and traditions are second to no other in the world. She said she was happy with the fact that the ceremony was gaining momentum internationally.
“For the Hlane Buganu, we focused on tourists from Mpumalanga, South Africa, as well as those from Mozambique, hence we are more than pleased with the fact that we had more tourists from Mozambique present, because it proves that our efforts were effective, and this is in line with our plans for the year which are to market our country fully to media houses outside the country,” she said. In addition, Nxumalo said they had also been good with attracting popular faces to witness Eswatini culture with them. The ceremony finished last night when His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Indlovukazi joined Lutsango in the final day for song and dance.
