WEEK IN PHOTOS: Virgins Gather, Freak Hailstorm, More

WEEK IN PHOTOS: Bizarre Pub, Floodwater Bath, More
WEEK IN PHOTOS: Bizarre Pub, Floodwater Bath, More
WEEK IN PHOTOS: Bizarre Pub, Floodwater Bath, More
WEEK IN PHOTOS: Bizarre Pub, Floodwater Bath, More
WEEK IN PHOTOS: Bizarre Pub, Floodwater Bath, More
WEEK IN PHOTOS: Bizarre Pub, Floodwater Bath, More
WEEK IN PHOTOS: Bizarre Pub, Floodwater Bath, More
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WEEK IN PHOTOS: Bizarre Pub, Floodwater Bath, More
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Ludzidzini, Swaziland, August 31, 2008--Tens of thousands of virgins, some as young as six years of age, gathered for the annual reed dance in the royal village of this tiny mountainous nation in southern Africa.

The dance is a ceremonial competition for King Mswati III's eye, according to the Reuters news agency. He may choose his 14th wife from the crowd.

Critics said the ceremony encourages teenage sex and polygamy in a nation where nearly 40 percent of adults live with HIV.
—Photograph by Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
 

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