Pourriez-vous expliquer comment la structure traditionnelle des foyers swazis, avec la répartition des épouses et leur rôle, reflète la hiérarchie sociale et le prestige familial, notamment en ce qui concerne le rôle du chef de famille et la valeur symbolique du kraal?
Culture

The principal Swazi social unit is the homestead, a traditional beehive hut thatched with dry grass. In a polygamous homestead, each wife has her own hut and yard surrounded by reed fences. There are three structures for sleeping, cooking, and storage (brewing beer). Larger homesteads also have structures used as bachelors' quarters and guest accommodation. Central to the traditional homestead is the cattle byre, a circular area enclosed by large logs, interspersed with branches. The cattle byre has ritual as well as practical significance as a store of wealth and symbol of prestige. It contains sealed grain pits. Facing the cattle byre is the great hut which is occupied by the mother of the headman. The headman is central to all homestead affairs, and he is often polygamous. He leads through example and advises his wives on all social affairs of the home, as well as seeing to the well-being of the family. He also spends time socialising with the young boys, who are often his sons or close relatives, advising them on the expectations of growing up and manhood.

The sangoma is a traditional diviner chosen by the ancestors of that particular family. The training of the sangoma is called "kwetfwasa". At the end of the training, a graduation ceremony takes place where all the local sangoma come together for feasting and dancing. The diviner is consulted for various purposes, such as determining the cause of sickness or even death. His diagnosis is based on "kubhula", a process of communication, through trance, with the natural superpowers. The inyanga (a medical and pharmaceutical specialist in western terms) possesses the bone throwing skill ("kushaya ematsambo") used to determine the cause of the sickness.

The most important cultural event in Eswatini is the Incwala ceremony. It is held on the fourth day after the full moon nearest the longest day, 21 December. Incwala is often translated in English as "first fruits ceremony", but the king's tasting of the new harvest is only one aspect among many in this long pageant. Incwala is best translated as "Kingship Ceremony": when there is no king, there is no incwala. It is a crime for any other person to hold an Incwala. Every Swazi may take part in the public parts of the Incwala. The climax of the event is the fourth day of the Big Incwala. The key figures are the king, queen mother, royal wives and children, the royal governors (indunas), the chiefs, the regiments, and the "bemanti" or "water people".

Eswatini's most well-known cultural event is the annual Umhlanga Reed Dance. In the eight-day ceremony, girls cut reeds, present them to the Queen Mother and then dance bare-breasted. It is done in late August or early September. Only childless, unmarried girls can take part. The aims of the ceremony are to preserve girls' chastity, provide tribute labour for the Queen Mother and to encourage solidarity by working together. The royal family appoints a commoner maiden to be "induna" (captain) of the girls and she announces the dates of the annual ceremony over the radio. The chosen induna is expected to be an expert dancer and knowledgeable on royal protocol. One of the king's daughters acts as her counterpart during the ceremony. The Reed Dance today is not an ancient ceremony but a development of the old " umchwasho " custom. In "umchwasho", all young girls were placed in a female age-regiment. If any girl became pregnant outside of marriage, her family paid a fine of one cow to the local chief. After a number of years, when the girls had reached a marriageable age, they would perform labour service for the queen mother, ending with dancing and feasting. The country was under the rite of "umchwasho" until 2005.

Eswatini is also known for a strong presence in the handcrafts industry. The formalised handcraft businesses of Eswatini employ over 2,500 people, many of whom are women. The products are unique and reflect the culture of Eswatini, ranging from housewares, to artistic decorations, to complex glass, stone or wood artwork.
Famille et genre

La structure familiale aztèque était bilatérale, comptant les parents des deux côtés de la famille (paternel et maternel) de manière égale, et l'héritage était également transmis aussi bien aux fils qu'aux filles. Cela signifiait que les femmes pouvaient posséder des biens, tout comme les hommes, et bénéficiaient donc d'une bonne part d'indépendance économique par rapport à leurs époux. Néanmoins, la société aztèque était fortement marquée par le genre, avec des rôles distincts pour les hommes et les femmes. On attendait des hommes qu'ils travaillent à l'extérieur du foyer, en tant qu'agriculteurs, commerçants, artisans et guerriers, tandis que les femmes étaient censées assumer la responsabilité de la sphère domestique. Les femmes pouvaient cependant également travailler à l'extérieur du foyer en tant que petites commerçantes, médecins, prêtres et sages-femmes. La guerre était très valorisée et source de prestige élevé, mais le travail des femmes était métaphoriquement considéré comme équivalent à la guerre, et tout aussi important pour maintenir l'équilibre du monde et plaire aux dieux. Cette situation a conduit certains chercheurs à décrire l'idéologie de genre aztèque comme une idéologie non pas de hiérarchie de genre, mais de complémentarité des genres, les rôles de genre étant distincts mais égaux.

Parmi la noblesse, les alliances matrimoniales étaient souvent utilisées comme stratégie politique, les nobles de rang inférieur épousant des filles provenant de lignées plus prestigieuses, dont le statut était ensuite transmis à leurs enfants. Les nobles étaient également souvent polygames, les seigneurs ayant de nombreuses épouses. La polygamie n'était pas très courante parmi les classes populaires et certaines sources décrivent qu'elle était interdite.
### Query ###
Pourriez-vous expliquer comment la structure traditionnelle des foyers swazis, avec la répartition des épouses et leur rôle, reflète la hiérarchie sociale et le prestige familial, notamment en ce qui concerne le rôle du chef de famille et la valeur symbolique du kraal?

### Main Text ###
Culture

The principal Swazi social unit is the homestead, a traditional beehive hut thatched with dry grass. In a polygamous homestead, each wife has her own hut and yard surrounded by reed fences. There are three structures for sleeping, cooking, and storage (brewing beer). Larger homesteads also have structures used as bachelors' quarters and guest accommodation. Central to the traditional homestead is the cattle byre, a circular area enclosed by large logs, interspersed with branches. The cattle byre has ritual as well as practical significance as a store of wealth and symbol of prestige. It contains sealed grain pits. Facing the cattle byre is the great hut which is occupied by the mother of the headman. The headman is central to all homestead affairs, and he is often polygamous. He leads through example and advises his wives on all social affairs of the home, as well as seeing to the well-being of the family. He also spends time socialising with the young boys, who are often his sons or close relatives, advising them on the expectations of growing up and manhood.

The sangoma is a traditional diviner chosen by the ancestors of that particular family. The training of the sangoma is called "kwetfwasa". At the end of the training, a graduation ceremony takes place where all the local sangoma come together for feasting and dancing. The diviner is consulted for various purposes, such as determining the cause of sickness or even death. His diagnosis is based on "kubhula", a process of communication, through trance, with the natural superpowers. The inyanga (a medical and pharmaceutical specialist in western terms) possesses the bone throwing skill ("kushaya ematsambo") used to determine the cause of the sickness.

The most important cultural event in Eswatini is the Incwala ceremony. It is held on the fourth day after the full moon nearest the longest day, 21 December. Incwala is often translated in English as "first fruits ceremony", but the king's tasting of the new harvest is only one aspect among many in this long pageant. Incwala is best translated as "Kingship Ceremony": when there is no king, there is no incwala. It is a crime for any other person to hold an Incwala. Every Swazi may take part in the public parts of the Incwala. The climax of the event is the fourth day of the Big Incwala. The key figures are the king, queen mother, royal wives and children, the royal governors (indunas), the chiefs, the regiments, and the "bemanti" or "water people".

Eswatini's most well-known cultural event is the annual Umhlanga Reed Dance. In the eight-day ceremony, girls cut reeds, present them to the Queen Mother and then dance bare-breasted. It is done in late August or early September. Only childless, unmarried girls can take part. The aims of the ceremony are to preserve girls' chastity, provide tribute labour for the Queen Mother and to encourage solidarity by working together. The royal family appoints a commoner maiden to be "induna" (captain) of the girls and she announces the dates of the annual ceremony over the radio. The chosen induna is expected to be an expert dancer and knowledgeable on royal protocol. One of the king's daughters acts as her counterpart during the ceremony. The Reed Dance today is not an ancient ceremony but a development of the old " umchwasho " custom. In "umchwasho", all young girls were placed in a female age-regiment. If any girl became pregnant outside of marriage, her family paid a fine of one cow to the local chief. After a number of years, when the girls had reached a marriageable age, they would perform labour service for the queen mother, ending with dancing and feasting. The country was under the rite of "umchwasho" until 2005.

Eswatini is also known for a strong presence in the handcrafts industry. The formalised handcraft businesses of Eswatini employ over 2,500 people, many of whom are women. The products are unique and reflect the culture of Eswatini, ranging from housewares, to artistic decorations, to complex glass, stone or wood artwork.

### Supplementary Text ###
Famille et genre

La structure familiale aztèque était bilatérale, comptant les parents des deux côtés de la famille (paternel et maternel) de manière égale, et l'héritage était également transmis aussi bien aux fils qu'aux filles. Cela signifiait que les femmes pouvaient posséder des biens, tout comme les hommes, et bénéficiaient donc d'une bonne part d'indépendance économique par rapport à leurs époux. Néanmoins, la société aztèque était fortement marquée par le genre, avec des rôles distincts pour les hommes et les femmes. On attendait des hommes qu'ils travaillent à l'extérieur du foyer, en tant qu'agriculteurs, commerçants, artisans et guerriers, tandis que les femmes étaient censées assumer la responsabilité de la sphère domestique. Les femmes pouvaient cependant également travailler à l'extérieur du foyer en tant que petites commerçantes, médecins, prêtres et sages-femmes. La guerre était très valorisée et source de prestige élevé, mais le travail des femmes était métaphoriquement considéré comme équivalent à la guerre, et tout aussi important pour maintenir l'équilibre du monde et plaire aux dieux. Cette situation a conduit certains chercheurs à décrire l'idéologie de genre aztèque comme une idéologie non pas de hiérarchie de genre, mais de complémentarité des genres, les rôles de genre étant distincts mais égaux.

Parmi la noblesse, les alliances matrimoniales étaient souvent utilisées comme stratégie politique, les nobles de rang inférieur épousant des filles provenant de lignées plus prestigieuses, dont le statut était ensuite transmis à leurs enfants. Les nobles étaient également souvent polygames, les seigneurs ayant de nombreuses épouses. La polygamie n'était pas très courante parmi les classes populaires et certaines sources décrivent qu'elle était interdite.

### Draft ###

### 1. Query Decomposition

"Pourriez-vous expliquer comment la structure traditionnelle des foyers swazis" → Traditional Swazi household structures
"répartition des épouses et leur rôle" → Wife distribution/allocation + roles
"hiérarchie sociale et le prestige familial" → Social hierarchy + family prestige
"rôle du chef de famille" → Head of household role
"valeur symbolique du kraal" → Symbolic value of kraal

Complex multi-hop question. Not simple factual retrieval.

### 2. Domain Contextualization

Swazi traditional society. Pre-colonial/early modern Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). 

Key domains needed:
- Swazi ethnography ● 
- Traditional African polygamy systems ●
- Cattle-wealth hierarchies ◐
- Colonial disruption patterns ○

Geographic: Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
Temporal: Traditional pre-colonial through early 20th century
Cultural: Nguni-speaking peoples, chiefdom societies

### 3. Knowledge Triangulation

⟨H≈0.2⟩ Swazi homesteads = "umuzi" or "inkhosi" compounds. Polygamous arrangements typical. Chief/headman (induna) at center. Multiple wives each with separate huts (emadlozini). Cattle kraal (sibaya) as wealth indicator.

⟨H≈1⟩ The kraal - not just cattle enclosure but ritual space. Sacred. Contains grain pits (inkhulu) for storing surplus. Architectural center of homestead. Facing the kraal, great hut (umphakatsi) for headman's mother. Strategic positioning? Mother as intermediary figure, controlling access to political power...

⟨H≈1.8⟩ Women's huts arranged around kraal periphery. Each wife's space. But also competition? Fertility contests. Who produces most cattle? Whose children inherit? The kraal as fertility symbol - cattle come from cows, cows come from wives. Wives as reproductive units, generating wealth through offspring. Numbers matter. Prestige through quantity but also quality of offspring...

### 4. Social Hierarchy Mechanics

Core insight: Homestead structure = social hierarchy materialized.

Physical arrangement encodes status:
- Kraal (cattle enclosure) = central sacred space
- Headman's hut = political authority center  
- Wife huts = ranked by husband's favor/wealth
- Guest hut (indlu yabadala) = social mobility indicator

→ Architecture as status marker

### 5. Prestige Systems

Cattle wealth quantification:
- Number of wives: 2-3 (common) vs 10+ (high status)
- Cattle herd size in kraal
- Quality of wife's children (especially sons)

※ Key mechanism: Cattle = currency of prestige. Kraal = cattle repository = wealth concentration = social power.

### 6. Head of Household Role

Induna/headman functions:
- Political leadership within homestead
- Wealth management (cattle, wives, children)
- Dispute resolution
- Social networking/alliance building

Authority style: Advisory rather than directive ●
- "Guidance through example" 
- Consensus-building with wives
- Strategic decision-making (marriage alliances, cattle trading)

### 7. Kraal Symbolic Value

Multi-layered symbolism:
1. **Economic**: Cattle storage → wealth accumulation
2. **Social**: Prestige display → community recognition  
3. **Religious**: Ancestral connection → legitimacy
4. **Political**: Authority base → power consolidation

Grain pits (inkhulu) within kraal = surplus management
→ Food security = political stability
→ Storage capacity = wealth ranking

### 8. Information Limitations

⚠ Potential gaps:
- Specific kraal architecture variations by region?
- Historical evolution of these systems?
- Colonial period disruptions?
- Contemporary persistence/changes?

◐ Partial knowledge on:
- Exact wife ranking protocols
- Inheritance patterns for kraal assets
- Initiation ceremonies for young men

### 9. Synthesis

Traditional Swazi homesteads created hierarchical social spaces through:

**Structural hierarchy**: Kraal-centered organization with wives' huts arranged by status
**Economic hierarchy**: Cattle wealth concentration in kraal = prestige measurement  
**Political hierarchy**: Headman's authority mediated through kraal management
**Symbolic hierarchy**: Kraal as sacred/wealthy center requiring proper social behavior

∴ Homestead structure = social hierarchy materialized in space. Kraal = economic, political, and religious authority center.

**Critical insight**: Architecture reflects and reinforces social stratification - physical arrangement encodes power relations.

### Answer###
La structure traditionnelle des foyers swazis présente effectivement une organisation sociale hiérarchisée qui reflète les relations de pouvoir et le prestige familial. Le homestead constitue l'unité sociale principale et se caractérise par une organisation spatiale symbolique.

Dans un homestead polygame, chaque épouse dispose de sa propre hutte et de sa cour, entourées de clôtures de roseaux. L'organisation du espace comprend trois structures principales : la hutte de couchage, la cuisine et le lieu de stockage, notamment les fosses de brassage de bière. Les plus grands homesteads abritent également des structures servant de quartiers pour les célibataires et d'hébergement pour les invités, créant ainsi une hiérarchie d'espaces selon les rôles familiaux.

Au centre de ce système se trouve le kraal, l'enclos circulaire de grands rondins de bois avec des traverses entrecroisées, qui possède une signification rituelle et pratique. Le kraal fonctionne comme un réservoir de richesse et symbole de prestige, contenant des fosses de grain scellées. Face au kraal se trouve la grande hutte occupée par la mère du chef de famille, positionnant cette figure féminine au cœur de l'organisation domestique.

Le chef de famille joue un rôle central dans tous les affaires du homestead. Il dirige par l'exemple et conseille ses épouses sur les affaires sociales de la maison, assurant le bien-être de la famille. Il consacre également du temps à socialiser avec les jeunes garçons, souvent ses fils ou de proches parents, les conseillant sur les attentes de la croissance et de l'âge adulte. Cette structure révèle une hiérarchie où le chef de famille détient l'autorité décisionnelle principale.

Le kraal symbolise à la fois la richesse matérielle et le prestige social. En tant que lieu de stockage du bétail, principale richesse swazie, il matérialise le statut économique et social de la famille. Cette organisation spatiale hiérarchisée et les rôles différenciés reflètent une société où le prestige familial se mesure à travers la richesse en têtes de bétail et l'organisation du foyer, avec le kraal comme centre symbolique de cette hiérarchie sociale.