JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 1 (Chinese media) -- Tens of thousands of virgin maidens danced Monday for Swaziland's King Mswati III in a traditional reed dance at Ludzidzini palace outside the capital Mbabane, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported.
The final day of the annual dance attracted a record 70,000 girls, some of them as young as six years of age.
The girls -- dressed in colorful Swazi regalia -- came from all corners of the mountain kingdom in a display of pride in their culture and virtue.
The ceremony has a more serious mission -- to draw attention to AIDS and encourage abstinence among young women, in a small southern African nation ravaged by AIDS and poverty, according to the SAPA report.
Swaziland has one of the highest AIDS prevalence rates in the world, with almost 40 percent of adults affected, according to UN data.
"As a young Swazi woman, it is very important for me to be here. I have been attending the dance since I was 14 years of age," university student Landile Hlongwa, 24, was quoted as saying.
King Mswati has 13 wives, and he could pick another from among the dancers, according to the report.
In 2005 the monarch triggered an outcry when he selected a 17-year-old to be his 13th wife just days after he ended an official ban on sex for girls younger than 18.
This year's ceremony precedes a controversial "40-40" celebration to mark the impoverished kingdom's 40 years of independence from Britain as well as the king's birthday.
That much-anticipated event has touched off unprecedented demonstrations against international shopping trips by the royal family and the purchase of luxury cars at a time when most Swazis live in poverty, according to the report.
The lavish celebration takes place Saturday.
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