© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
sweat gland ► sweet pea I 1853
velds, culminating in the Lubombo escarpment in the east. Fauna includes hippopotamuses, antelopes, zebras, and crocodiles. Four major rivers, including the Komati, flow through the country and irrigate citrus and sugarcane estates. Mineral resources include asbestos and diamonds. Swa¬ ziland is a monarchy with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the king, assisted by the prime minister. Stone tools and rock paintings indicate prehistoric habitation in the region, but it was not settled until the Bantu- speaking Swazi people migrated there in the 18th century and established the nucleus of the Swazi nation. The British gained control in the 19th century after the Swazi king sought their aid against the Zulu. Following the South African War, the British governor of Transvaal administered Swaziland; his powers were transferred to the British high commissioner in 1906. In 1949 the British rejected the Union of South Africa’s request to control Swaziland. The country gained lim¬ ited self-government in 1963 and achieved independence in 1968. In the 1970s new constitutions were framed based on the supreme authority of the king and traditional government. Although the kingdom remained in place in the early 21st century, steps were being taken to establish a con¬ stitution. Swaziland has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, with some two-fifths of the population infected.
sweat gland Either of two types of perspiration glands in the skin. Eccrine sweat glands, controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, use evaporation to cool the skin by secreting water when body temperature rises. Apocrine sweat glands, usually associated with hair follicles, are concentrated in the underarms and genital region. Starting at puberty, hor¬ mones stimulate them to continuously secrete a fatty sweat. Certain spe¬ cialized glands, such as mammary glands and wax-secreting glands of the ear canal, probably developed from this type of gland.
sweat lodge Hut or lodge used for ritual purification. Its use origi¬ nated with Native Americans—for whom it remains a significant ceremony—but it is now common among other non-Indian groups who recognize its health as well as spiritual benefits. The structure of the sweat lodge is usually made of bent saplings and skin or blanket coverings and is heated by steam from water poured on hot stones. A ceremony typi¬ cally surrounds the lodge’s construction and use. Some groups believe the lodge becomes a symbolic centre in which the six cardinal directions, the past and present, and the human and spiritual worlds are connected.
Sweden officially Kingdom of Sweden Country, eastern Scandi¬ navian Peninsula, northern Europe. Area: 173,860 sq mi (450,295 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 9,024,000. Capitaclass="underline" Stockholm. The population is largely homogeneous, although there are Finnish and Sami (Lapp) minori¬ ties and 10% of the inhabitants are immigrants or their descendents. Lan¬ guage: Swedish (official). Religions: Christianity (predominantly Protestant; also Roman Catholic); also Islam. Currency: Swedish krona. Sweden has three traditional regions: mountainous Norrland covers about three-fifths of the country and has vast forests and large ore deposits; Svealand has undulating glacial ridges and contains most of the country’s 90,000 lakes; and Gotaland comprises the stony Smaland highlands and the rich Skane plains. About 15% of Sweden lies north of the Arctic Circle. The economy is largely based on services, heavy industries, and interna¬ tional trade. Sweden has large deposits of iron ore; industries include mining, lumbering, steel manufacturing, and tourism. Agricultural prod¬ ucts include grains, sugar beets, potatoes, and livestock. One of the world’s richest countries, Sweden is known for its comprehensive social welfare system. It is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary state with one legislative house; its chief of state is the king, and the head of government is the prime minister. The first traces of human life in Swe¬ den date from about 9000 bc. During the Viking era (9th-10th century ad), the Swedes controlled river trade in eastern Europe between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea; they also raided western European lands. Sweden was loosely united and Christianized in the 11th- 12th century. It con¬ quered the Finns in the 12th century, and in the 14th century it united with Norway and Denmark under a single monarchy. Sweden broke away in 1523 under Gustav I Vasa. In the 17th century it emerged as a great European power in the Baltic region, but its dominance declined after its defeat in the Second Northern War (1700-21). It became a constitutional monarchy in 1809 and united with Norway in 1814; it acknowledged Norwegian independence in 1905. Sweden maintained its neutrality dur¬ ing both World Wars. It was a charter member of the UN but abstained from membership in NATO and did not join the European Union until 1995. A new constitution drafted in 1975 reduced the monarch’s powers to those of a ceremonial chief of state. In 1997 Sweden began the con¬
troversial shutdown of its nuclear power industry. By the early 21st century it had emerged as a European centre of telecom¬ munications and information technology.
Swedenborg, Emanuel (b. Jan. 29, 1688, Stockholm, Swed.—d. March 29, 1772, London, Eng.) Swedish scientist, theologian, and mys¬ tic. After graduating from the University of Uppsala, he spent five years abroad studying the natural sciences. On his return he began publication of Sweden’s first scientific journal, Daedelus Hyperboreas, and Charles XIII appointed him assessor with the Royal Board of Mines. His writing gradually shifted toward philosophy of nature and metaphysics, in concert with his growing belief that the universe had a basically spiritual struc¬ ture. In 1744 he had a vision of Christ, and in 1745 he received a call to abandon worldly learning. He spent the rest of his career interpreting the Bible and relating what he had seen in his visions. He maintained that God was the power and life within all creatures and that the Christian Trinity represented the three essential qualities of God: love, wisdom, and activity. He believed redemption consisted in humankind’s being recre¬ ated in God’s image through Christ’s glorification. He published more than 30 works, including The True Christian Religion (1771). Societies were soon founded to propagate his pantheistic teaching, notably the New Jerusalem Church, established in London in 1787. Swedenborgians came to the U.S. in the 1790s. See pantheism.
Swedenborgians See New Church
Swedish language National language of Sweden and one of two official languages of Finland, spoken by about nine million people. It belongs to the East Scandinavian group of the Germanic languages and is
closely related to Norwegian and Danish. Its history from the Com¬ mon Scandinavian period (600- 1050) until c. 1225 is known chiefly from inscriptions in runic writing. Modem Swedish is usually dated from 1526, when a translation of the New Testament was first printed. The standard language began to emerge in the 17th century, based largely on the Svea dialects spoken in Stock¬ holm. Swedish, like Norwegian, has two tonal word accents.
sweet pea Annual plant (Lathyrus odoratus ) of the pea family (see legume), native to Italy and widely
) •'
Sweet pea (Lathy rus odoratus)
SVEN SAMEUUS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1854 I sweet potato ► swing
cultivated elsewhere for its beautiful, fragrant flowers. The long (4-6 ft, or 1.2-2 m), vinelike stem climbs by means of tendrils and bears feath¬ erlike leaves. White, pink, red, violet, or purple flowers, reminiscent of butterflies in shape, are borne singly or in clusters of two to four. The fruit is a hairy pod about 2 in. (5 cm) long. Hundreds of varieties of sweet pea have been developed. The plant was the subject of important genetics experiments by Reginald Crundall Punnett and William Bateson.