All of the statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are reproduced at the end of this article
The word "concubine selection" only exists in our impression in ancient times, but in the 21st century, there are still countries on the earth that practice the "concubine selection" festival.
After the festival began, unmarried girls in the country began to take to the streets, parade the streets bare-chested, and show their charm unscrupulously, just to let the king choose.
But where is this country, and why would these young girls be willing to take to the streets for such an absurd festival of "choosing a concubine"?
"Concubine Selection Day"
Eswatini is located in southern Africa, one of the least developed countries in the world, with a GDP of less than $5 billion, and at the same time, it is an absolute monarchy, and the king is keen to choose concubines.
As the saying goes, "dragons give birth to dragons and phoenixes", the old king of Eswatini had 70 wives and concubines in his life, so when it came to Mswati III, the system of choosing concubines was also implemented.
The festival of "choosing a concubine" in Japan is the "Reed Festival", which originally meant to be a coming-of-age ceremony for young girls, and it is a festival attended by unmarried girls from all over the country.
On the first day, 20 reeds are collected, brought to a certain location, and when they are put down, they can dance to their heart's content and enjoy the joy of adults.
These girls wear short beaded skirts with no upper body, which may seem unreasonable to us, but in them, this is what every Eswatini woman has to go through.
In their minds, the girls at the Reed Festival can unleash their charm and at the same time be a way to showcase Eswatini culture.
However, after 1999, the annual Reed Festival became Mswati III's "Concubine-Electing Ceremony", and the girls would take turns walking in front of Mswati III on the seventh day, waiting for him to choose his own princess.
I thought that these girls were forced, but these girls were all voluntary, and some even very much hoped to be selected, just because Eswatini is very poor, if they can be selected, they will get out of poverty and live a good life.
At first, it was only allowed to participate with women from their own country, but as it became more popular, girls from other African countries also chose to participate in the festival.
Later, there were more and more people, and Mswati III couldn't watch it, so he would recommend the best one, and if he was not satisfied at this time, he would check the video and re-select it.
For these girls, everyone wants to become the princess of Mswati III, because once she is spotted by the king at the Reed Festival, the girl will receive a dowry of 10 cows.
Although 10 cows are nothing with us, they are a lot of money in Eswatini, and for ordinary families, after marrying into the palace, they have no worries about food and clothing, and they no longer have to worry about hunger.
Moreover, whoever has a daughter who becomes a princess will also follow the rising tide, so those girls will shine at the annual "Reed Festival", of course, this has advantages and disadvantages, although it avoids poverty, but also lacks freedom and love.
Many people think this is ridiculous, but there are many more absurd things that King Mswati III has done.
Rough Tang Life
After Mswati III took office, he felt that as long as the tribal relations were good and the military power was ensured, then the country would not be in chaos.
Slowly, as the power in his hands grew, Mswati III began his life of "free emperor", not only buying planes and luxury goods, but also spending 500,000 US dollars to buy a Maybach.
even took more than 2,000 cattle in exchange for a luxury car. Why do you say that you should exchange cattle for them, because in this backward country, cattle are a symbol of wealth, and sometimes they are more useful than currency.
At the same time, Mswati III also decreed that no one should take pictures of his car, otherwise he would have to pay compensation to a cow. Mswati III was very good at giving orders.
Especially before, because of the severity of AIDS, in order to alleviate the situation in the country, Mswati III ordered the whole country to abstain from sex for 5 years.
At first glance, this order is really strange, but who can control this kind of thing, people don't have such behavior under your nose, and after two years, Mswati III couldn't control it, so he canceled the order.
This was followed by the release of an enhanced version of the nation's maiden requirement to ensure chastity, and the punishment of a cow for violating a maiden, which directly frightened the residents.
Because cattle are worth more than a woman in Eswatini, when this policy was issued, no one dared to violate it, but what people didn't expect was that the person who gave the order couldn't bear it.
Mswati III fell in love with a 17-year-old high school student at this time, so he took possession of her and handed over a cow, which was not equivalent to breaking his own rules.
But Mswati III didn't take it to heart, he felt that there were no rich people in the country at all, so no one would dare to hand over a cow for a woman, but the king himself was inconsistent with his words and deeds, and the people were naturally even more dissatisfied.
However, the most surprising thing is that Eswatini still has a lot to do with Taiwan!
opinionated
Although the country of Eswatini has a low sense of existence in our eyes, it can be said to be of great significance to Taiwan, because on the African continent, only Eswatini has "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan.
And Tsai Ing-wen "likes" Mswati III, in order to meet his life, Tsai Ing-wen has not invested less, just one birthday Taiwan sponsored Mswati III 1.7 million US dollars, and also provided a cheap special plane.
Even in 2023, Tsai Ing-wen went to the country and built an oil storage tank for them, saying that it was to ensure Taiwan's energy supply.
I don't know how many people laughed when this sentence came out, because Eswatini is not an oil-producing country, and if it were not for South Africa to send him oil, they would not be able to use it themselves, but fortunately there are smart people in Taiwan who directly blocked this idea.
In addition, Taiwan also gave them all kinds of support, but the money was not used for construction, but went into the pockets of the royal family.
But they still know how to be grateful, took Tsai Ing-wen's money, and began to help them "scream", not only supporting Tsai Ing-wen at the United Nations, but even making provocative remarks against the mainland, and the mainland's foreign minister kindly reminded him that he didn't listen at all!
epilogue
In terms of this behavior, Mswati III is definitely the most successful person, even if Mswati III cannot go to the scene due to physical reasons, someone will broadcast the scene over.
But in recent years, Mswati III's absurd behavior has also been internationally criticized as barbaric and contrary to the freedom now advocated, but in Eswatini, girls still hope to be chosen by the king.
Fortunately, the virus in the country is very serious, and the Eswatini government just keeps these people together to avoid scourging the world.
Information sources:
China Hot News Network "The only country in the world that can 'choose a concubine', the king is very generous, and gives the princess dozens of cows as a dowry"
Observer.com: "Eswatini's annual reed festival opens again, is it really called the concubine selection festival again?"
China Photography Network "The World's Only King "Concubine Selection Festival"|Appreciation of the Works of Zhang Yan, a Contracted Photographer of China Photography Network"
Global Network "Chaoyang Shaoxia: How Long Can Taiwan's "Golden Yuan Diplomacy" Be Practiced?
The only country in the world that can 'choose a concubine', the king is very generous, and gives the princess dozens of cows as a dowry_Look at the headlines_China.com
China Search "It's time to throw money again! King of Eswatini visits Taiwan next week, Tsai Ing-wen once sold planes to celebrate her birthday" 2018-06-02
Taiwan Strait Network "Help Tsai Ing-wen "Be Bold"? Eswatini's new "representative in Taiwan" is not ashamed to say that "if Taiwan has something, it will help defense"" 2022-06-13