Over 50,000 bare-breasted virgins recently vied to become the 13th wife of Swaziland's king. In the annual Reed Dance ceremony, which has taken place since 1999, King Mswati III gets to pick his new bride.

The girls, clad in short beaded skirts, colorful tasseled scarves, and carrying machetes, sang a tribute to the king while marching around his royal stadium attended by male minders dressed in animal skin loincloths. Most wanted the honor to reap the benefits that being in the polygamist relationship would bring such as a house and a car.

But some people are opposed to the ceremony, saying that not only should marriage be about love and not money, that polygamy is wrong, and that it could raise the HIV rate which is already high in the country.

"The Reed Dance has been abused for one man's personal satisfaction," Mario Masuku, the leader of the banned opposition party told Reuters. "The king has a passion for young women and opulence."

Tsandzile Ndluva, 21, one of the dancers, disagrees. "The king takes a wife whenever he wants and that's the way it is. This is our culture and we will never change."This year's event also served to lift the royal ban on sex with virgins, which was decreed in 2001 to help stop the spread of HIV.

Mswati, 37, who already has 12 wives, married a virgin just days after reviving the ban and fined himself one cow. After lifting the 5-year ban, he ordered thousands of maidens to remove their chastity scarves.