Day 7: Swaziland (eSwatini) and Matsamo Cultural Village

We start day 7 with a trip to the unique Ngwenya glass factory.

Watching the glassblowers at work was amazing. The precision and efficiency that they possess is a testament to their craft. The factory has a maze of catwalks that allow you to get a bird's eye view of the process. It's also obvious that they don't have the equivalent of OSHA. These men were working with hot molten material, furnaces, automated grinding/polishing stones and no one was wearing gloves or safety eyewear.

A live video of the process.

On our way to the Swaziland border, we passed yet another royal residence.

The Matsamo cultural village was a delightful experience. The videos and pictures probably don't do the live performance justice, but I tried to capture it as best I could. It was thrilling to watch the ritual dancing and hear the songs and chants. It literally gave you goosebumps.

Our tour guide estimated the elderly woman in this video to be between 65 and 75 years young. She was step for step with the women half her age. The shrill whistle that sounds like a bird is actually her. I could really use that weapon at the Panther football games.

The male and female dancers in these videos were so powerful. It's quick, but they're raising their legs so high that they're basically doing a vertical split. Their feet are coming down in perfect unison with the drum. We were sitting about 7 feet from where they were performing and we could feel the ground shake with the thunderous stomping of their bare feet on the ground. Their CD cover captures a dancer performing the standing split. His foot is literally raised above his head.

None of the singers are trained but they sing with such soul. It was truly moving. The mayor of the village gets in on the act with the singing. He acts as the music director of sorts for the choir. He's definitely "extra", but was entertaining nonetheless.

A traditional thatch hut. Men must enter the hut first according to tradition and culture. The entrance is low and forces visitors to bow in reverence when entering. It also allows the inhabitants to defend against intruders since the intruder is vulnerable upon entering while the hut inhabitants are standing tall.