Culture and Practices of the People of Rwanda

rwanda-traditional-drumsLanguage, food, clothes, marriage Rwanda is a small country found within the East African region and the official as well as commonly spoken languages in the country are: French, Kinyarwanda and English; Swahili is also used in the country. It is a highly populated country and among the poorest in the world.

The biggest number of Rwandans is Christians with a very small percentage of Muslims. Between 85 and 90% of Rwandans are Hutus, then between 10 and 15% are Tutsi while the remaining 1% Twa. However something very important that you should always keep in mind while on a Safari in Rwanda, is never ask the which ethnic-group the people belong to considering their sad past.

Majority of the people live in the rural areas and they are subsistence agriculturalists, and their standards of living differ greatly between the social classes as well as their setting either urban or rural. Most of the rural settings don’t have running water, or even electricity.

Rwanda and Burundi share a very similar culture and were administrated as a single entity known as Ruanda-Urundi until their independence in 1962.

During the colonial era (Germany and Belgium) a strict system of social-stratification surfaced in the country that had violent effects to the current day. The conflicts that happened between the Tutsi as well as the Hutu is a direct consequence of the way this country was governed during the colonial time.

For several years the fewer Tutsi privileged leaders were treated as seniors to the Hutu, which nurtured bitterness and anger among the bigger ethnic group. Once the Tutsi desired independence in the 1950s from Belgium the colonial power diverted its favor to the Hutu. This changing of powers ended into repeated ethnic violence on a horrible scale. it is estimated that more than one million people were murdered since 1962 while several others were displaced.

Although ethnic conflicts were biggest problem Rwanda was facing, the government has committed to a non-ethnic civilization (that includes referring to everyone as Rwandan irrespective of their tribe or origin.)

The Rwandan Perspective of Marriage and Family

In Rwanda, a family unit comprises of a husband, his wife and their children only. Individuals from a number of related households make up another kinship. the head of the unit is the male who is the eldest as well as most influential. Marriage is extremely important to them and getting a child is considered as an individual’s transition to total adulthood. in order for marriage to take place, the man must pay a price to the father of his bride. Traditional ceremonies including weddings are not only leisure activities but a way of bringing together even long lost friends and relatives.

According to the Rwandans, child bearing is a very import part of their life because without them, when one dies, they won’t have anyone to honor their spirit. in each family especially within the rural areas, the children who have been fortunate to go to school and be educated  are supposed to financially help support the family once they are old enough .

 Clothing in Rwanda

Cloth is an item that was introduced in Rwanda by the early rwandan-traditional-marriageEuropeans. Because majority of the Rwandan cannot afford to buy brand new clothes, they import second-hand clothes and these are the most widely worn. Rwandans are very beautiful people and they associate so much importance to their outward appearance including what they wear.

The men wear trousers while the younger boys put on shots mainly.  The women on the other hand wear clothes that mainly cover below their knees.

 Rwanda Food and Delicacies

The Diet of the people of Rwanda comprises of so much starch and low protein plus fat. The commonly eaten food includes different types of bananas, potatoes as well as beans (and occasionally fish). Then Meat is hardly ever eaten, and when comparing goat meat and beef, goat is the most eaten while beef is only available if somebody sacrifices a bull or cow especially during ceremonies. In Rwanda, the more cattle one has, the more prestige they will have in society. Although guests are not at all times offered food, drinks on the other hand are a must. According these people’s culture, its considered an insult to host a visitor and not offer them a drink especially when other people are drinking. Bear in mind that it isn’t approved for some women to consume alcohol in Rwanda

For more information about the culture and practices of Rwanda, visit gorillasafarirwanda.com

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