The Kingdom of Swaziland celebrates its independence today.
Interesting fact: Traditionally, the Swazi king reigns along with his mother who serves as the spiritual and national head of state with power of equal measure. However, now the role is merely symbolic.
I remember seeing some beautiful candles in Nairobi, Kenya, that were imported from Swaziland. I came to find out that Swazi candles are actually world-famous. Made by hand, no two candles are ever the same. The images below show some candles made by Swazi Candles.
On my reading list is the book, Sicebile: Swaziland's Cultural Adornment and Artefacts by Gordon Malangabi Crawford. Below are some beautiful images. Apparently it is either out of print or very rare so, if anyone knows of a way of getting to look at it, please let me know! In the meantime, you can enjoy some images from it here.
