The Grammy award-winning singer, who is about five months pregnant, arrived in South Africa to headline the Fifa Kick-Off Concert in Soweto last week. On Wednesday, Keys and Swizz Beatz, her music producer fiancé, both decked out in beads and leopard print, had their union and their unborn child blessed in a traditional ceremony at Illovo on the South Coast.
The ceremony took place under a huge fig tree – dubbed “the healing tree” – which symbolises good fortune and good health. The R&B diva, known for her stylish wardrobe, swopped her blue jeans, cowboy boots and knee-length jersey to emerge from behind the tree in a skirt, a blue sash over her shoulder and a beaded headdress, necklace and bracelets.
  
The two-hour ceremony was arranged months in advance at Keys’s request by the non-governmental organisation, Bobbi Bear, a child abuse group funded by Keys’ Keep a Child Alive (KCA) Foundation. The local NGO runs a weekly HIV/Aids awareness clinic under the tree.
Staff from Bobbi Bear formed a circle and greeted the couple with songs of praise and welcome. They were joined by about 50 locals who gathered under the tree to watch the proceedings.
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