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Article: Something stirs in Zwelibanzi's kingdom; Janet Smith ventures inside the royal residence of King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo as ancient royal houses begin a tentative engagement for a new age.(Dispatches)
- Article from:
- The Sunday Independent (South Africa)
- Article date:
- July 26, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Independent News & Media PLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE TEENAGE cattle herders tramp across the dirt road to the palace barefoot, their charges bristling. There's not much warmth under the feeble remains of sunlight cast over the royal residence. The Sithebe Great Place outside Mthatha, where King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo lives, is no Buckingham Palace.
There are no chauffeur-driven vehicles, no sentries in bearskin hats and red tunics. There is no grandstanding on balconies, and the view offers a surreal sweep of poverty: hundreds of huts coloured like sweet wrappings snagged in a grand beauty. Few have much. The landscape is Zwelibanzi's kingdom.
Hold a pair of binoculars to your eyes and do a ...