Cultural Village

Swaziland''s cultural village is nestled on the banks of a river beneath towering cliffs and is an accurate reconstruction of a chief''s village at the end of the 19th century. Essentiially the village is composed of grass domed huts and reed walls. The huts are beautifully made, initially a dome of saplings is constructed with a small low doorway. Then layers of grass are placed over the dome and the whole structure is covered by a net of painstakingly plaited grass rope.

The village has a cattle enclosure, grain storge facilities, male and female areas, all laid out in the traditinal way. The village really does give a feeling of what life was like before the colonial era started and well informed guides provide the essential interesting little detail that brings it to life. For instance the tightly woven sapling domes are not just for decoration, they were originally made to stop spears being stuck throgh in the 19th century Zulu wars. Next to the village there is a thatched theatre where you can see traditional dancing twice a day.