Traditional handicrafts

A wide range of traditional handicrafts is produced in rural Rwanda, ranging from ceramics and basketry to traditional woodcarvings and contemporary paintings. A good selection of crafted artifacts can be viewed in the main market or street stalls in Kigali, while an excellent place to peruse and purchase modern art works is the capital’s Centre for the Formation of Arts.

A distinctively Rwandan craft is the Imigongo – a popular art form that is produced using cow dung. ‘Paintings’ are produced by a local co-operative in the village of Nyakarimbi near the Rusumo Falls border with Tanzania. Dominated by black, brown and white whorls and other geometric abstractions, these unique and earthy works can be bought in Kigali, but it’s worth diverting to source to see how the paintings are reflected in local house decorations.

Intore Dancers

Music and dance plays an important role in the traditions of all Rwanda’s people.

The Rwandan people have a variety of music and dance which range from acts that demonstrate epics commemorating excellence and bravery, humorous lyrics to hunting root. Traditional songs are often accompanied by a solitary lulunga, a harp-like instrument with eight strings. More celebratory dances are backed by a drum orchestra, which typically comprises seven to nine members, and collectively produce a hypnotic and exciting explosion set of intertwining rhythms.

Lucky visitors may chance upon spontaneous traditional performances in the villages of Rwanda. The finest exponent of Rwanda’s varied and dynamic traditional musical and dance styles, however, is the Intore Dance Troupe. Founded several centuries ago, the Intore – literally ‘The Chosen Ones’ – once performed exclusively for the Royal Court, but today their exciting act can be arranged at short notice through the National Museum in Butare. A more modern form of Rwandan music is the upbeat and harmonious devotional singing that can be heard in any church service around the country.

Museums in Rwanda

• National Museum of Rwanda, Kibungo: The most prominent tourist attraction in Butare houses perhaps the finest ethnographic collection in East Africa. Absorbing displays of traditional artifacts are illuminated by a fascinating selection of turn-of-the-century monochrome photographs, providing insight not only into pre-colonial lifestyles, but also into the subsequent development of Rwanda as a modern African state. photo

• Rwesero Art Museum, Nyanza: Although at first intended to become a palace for King Mutara III Rudahigwa, the palace at Rwesero has been easily converted into an Art Museum. It is located at the top of the Rwesero hill in the area of Nyanza.

• Museum of Living History, Nyanza: Consists of 16 huts, each with a specific function, that were built inside a huge compound. The enclosure had only one entrance that gave access to an immense public area called Karubanda. This place was both a venue for big crowds of courtesans and their servants and a place for holding meetings and trying cases.

• Museum of Natural History, Kigali: In memory of the explorations and the discoveries of Richard Kandt, his former residence on the Nyarugenge Hill in Kigali, is now dedicated to a Museum of Natural History of Rwanda. The goal of the museum is to present a clear picture of the evolution of the ground, animals and plants, and to explain the interdependency between living beings and their environment.

• Rukari Rwandan Ancient History Museum, Nyanza: The Museum is the former residence of King Mutara III Rudahigwa. The museum aims to safeguard the past in a bid to consider culture as the basis of development and the salvation of Rwandan identity.