The Umkhosi Womhlanga -Reed Dance will resume in northern KwaZulu-Natal this weekend, during Heritage Month.
Thousands of maidens are expected to descend on the eMashobeni Royal Palace, near Nongoma, for the annual reed dance as KwaZulu-Natal embraces its cultural and heritage roots in Heritage Month 2026.
According to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), Heritage Month is commemorated in September under the theme: “Celebrating our living Heritage: Strengthening the ties that bind us.” The second leg of Umkhosi Womhlanga at eMashobeni will run until Sunday, September 13.
The department said it provides an opportunity for South Africans to reflect on their shared history, celebrate cultural diversity, and strengthen a collective sense of belonging grounded in the constitutional values of human dignity, equality, non-racialism, non-sexism, and the spirit of Ubuntu. Heritage Day will be observed on September 24.
Sport, Arts and Culture MEC Mntomuhle Khawula regarded this as the province’s most significant cultural and moral regeneration ceremony, held under the auspices of King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini. The first leg, last week, attracted more than 5,000 maidens, with the number expected to double this weekend.
