"Beehive" houses
are seen to the right. The rectangular houses reflect
a later influence. The interiors are cozy with the
sweet smell of dried grass from their thatch and
shiny smooth floors made, remarkably, from a mortar
of earth and cattle dung. The cattle pen seen behind
the beehives is not only typical of a homestead, but
also a central feature of Swazi social order. It is
deep subject, far beyond the scope of the journey,
but for those interested I would highly recommend
Hilda Kuper's landmark work The Swazi: A South
African Kingdom.
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to continue...