CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Swaziland |
CULTURE
The onslaught of HIV/AIDS means a good hard look must be taken at some of Swaziland’s customs and traditions
Swaziland is a nation well known for having preserved its customs and traditions throughout the passage of time. The people have also been able to blend their Swazi culture with modern Western culture. But with the onslaught of HIV/AIDS, the Swazi culture is now under serious threat, as the nation is compelled to discard some of its cultural practices that could be responsible for the spread of the HIV virus. One such practice is that of the levirate («kungena» in the vernacular), whereby a man is encouraged to marry his brother’s widow.
Delesi Masilela’s story
Delesi Masilela is HIV-positive. He lives in Malakatsa, 40km northwest of Manzini. Here’s how he got infected with HIV through the levirate custom. Until he married his brother’s widow, he was as fit as a fiddle. Full of life and vigour, he’d already married two wives, LaNdzinisa and LaXaba, and had had sixteen children altogether. LaNdzinisa bore him nine and LaXaba, seven.
In the 1970s, he stopped working in the now defunct Havelock Asbestos Mine and Ngwenya Iron Ore Mine. He was still in good health but preferred to work on his large farm — maize fields and a vegetable garden — on the banks of a nearby small river. He was thus able to feed his family and pay his children’s school fees. He recalls: «When I was strong and healthy and full of energy, I decided to stop working for the white men. I returned home to grow maize and vegetables on my land. My land is very fertile so I used to get a good yield. I sold the surplus in Manzini’s and Mbabane’s markets».
All that is now history as the completely changed Masilela is battling with the HIV virus. He’s so weak, that he’s now only able to cultivate a small portion of his fields and garden. He’s struggling to feed his family and pay the school fees of the four children still attending school.
So, what happened? Masilela says that after marrying his brother’s widow (his brother had died after a long illness), he’d begun to suffer from a variety of ailments including fatigue, coughing, diarrhoea, colds, tuberculosis and rash. «For the first three years of our marriage, I was healthy. But in the fourth year I felt unwell when I had a spell of fatigue and lost weight in the process. I tire easily and now have a consistent cough».
At that time, Masilela didn’t know much about the symptoms of HIV/AIDS. He thought that somebody jealous of his success in the community was bewitching him. He consulted several traditional healers in search for a remedy, but in vain. However, thanks to information about HIV/AIDS broadcast on the radio, it dawned on him that he was infected with the HIV virus. He went to Sigombeni Red Cross Clinic for a blood test where after a month his suspicions were confirmed.
Masilela’s crusade
Having accepted that he’s never going to get better, Masilela made a point of disclosing his HIV status, and embarked on a mission to spread the HIV/AIDS prevention message to the nation. He returned home and urged his relatives not to accuse anybody of bewitching him. Rather, they should make it known that one day he will die from HIV/AIDS. He believes that he’s a better chance of getting the AIDS-prevention message across because he’s actually dying from AIDS, than if the same message comes from someone who looks the picture of health. «I tell people that I’m suffering from HIV/AIDS and therefore, they should immediately stop accusing people of bewitching me. I do my best to convince them that AIDS is present among us and AIDS kills».
Masilela first made his condition known on the occasion of the 2001 Red Cross Day at Sigombeni. His disclosure shook everyone but he’s gravely concerned that if the nation doesn’t heed his message, HIV/AIDS will wipe out the entire nation. His polygamous family broke up, as LaNdzinisa abandoned him leaving him behind with LaXaba, who still looks very healthy. But she’s still awaiting her blood test results.
When asked about the relevance of the levirate custom in this day and age, Masilela says that in the past it was right, as it was a sign of respect, but now it’s high time that the nation discards such customs. His sentiments are also contained in a recent UNAIDS study, which lists «kungena» among other Swazi customs that promote the spread of HIV.
Now Masilela is in and out of hospital and exists on a specially balanced diet, which he supplements with vegetables including spinach, cabbages, green pepper, carrots and beetroot. He complains that he’s feeling too weak to continue growing vegetables in his small garden. He appeals to the government to quickly make anti-retroviral drugs available to everyone diagnosed with the HIV virus. He wishes he could get hold of them in order to prolong his life. He urges the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to provide them free of charge, because denying them to the afflicted is tantamount to a death sentence.
Masilela’s message to those who are still HIV-negative is to abstain or to practise safe sex. He appeals to all those who haven’t been tested, to get themselves tested before they marry. And one other detail concerning the «kungena» custom. Doo Aphane is National Director for Southern Africa, of the organisation, Women and Law. She states: «The “kungenwa” custom is not only completely “out” in this day and age of HIV/AIDS, but is also very wrong because greedy men take advantage of it to plunder the estates they “inherit”. Nowadays, we have cases of widows complaining left and right about their brother-in-laws who married them in the levirate custom with the sole aim of squandering the wealth amassed by their late husbands».