|
Intore
''Intore'', sometimes called the Dance of Heroes, is a traditional dance performed by men in Rwanda and Burundi; women are not allowed to do so. Intore came to Rwanda in the 1830s when the royal Muyange fled fighting in neighbouring Burundi Kingdom and was granted asylum by the King of Rwanda. In pre-colonial times, ''intore'' was a war dance performed by the Tutsi military. Dance numbers were often war-themed, and the performing men carried actual weapons. Present-day ''intore'' dancers do not carry actual weapons, but instead use replicas. It is now performed at various celebrations and public ceremonies, including family gatherings and national events. The dance is accompanied by drum ensemble (from seven to nine drums), providing strong, almost hypnotic set of rhythms. Melodic interludes are provided by the ''lulunga'', a harp-like instrument with eight strings. Potential dancers are chosen based on physical and moral attributes. Before they can perform, the ''intore'' danc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Rwanda
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With a comparatively high elevation, Rwanda has been given the sobriquet "land of a thousand hills" (), with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the southeast, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. It is the most densely populated mainland African country; among countries larger than 10,000 km2, it is the third-most densely populated country in the world. Its Capital city, capital and largest city is Kigali. Hunter-gatherers settled the territory in the Stone Age, Stone and Iron Ages, followed later by Bantu peoples. The population coalesce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Traditional Dance
A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances are usually called "religious dances" because of their purpose. The terms "ethnic" and "traditional" are used when it is required to emphasize the cultural roots of the dance. In this sense, nearly all folk dances are ethnic ones. If some dances, such as polka, cross ethnic boundaries and even cross the boundary between "folk" and "ballroom dance", ethnic differences are often considerable enough to mention. Background Folk dances share some or all of the following attributes: *Dances are usually held at folk dance gatherings or social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music. *Dances not generally designed for public performance or the stage, though they may later be arranged and set for stage p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Burundi
Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million people. It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and southeast, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; Lake Tanganyika lies along its southwestern border. The political capital city is Gitega and the economic capital city is Bujumbura. The Great Lakes Twa, Twa, Hutu and Tutsi peoples have lived in Burundi for at least 500 years. For more than 200 of those years, Burundi was an independent Kingdom of Burundi, kingdom. In 1885, it became part of the German colony of German East Africa. After the First World War and German Revolution of 1918–19, Germany's defeat, the League of Nations mandated the territories of Burundi and neighboring Rwanda to Belgium in a combined territory called Rwanda-Urundi. After the Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Tutsi
The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group Hutu and the African Pygmies, Pygmy group of the Twa). Historically, the Tutsi were Pastoralism, pastoralists and filled the ranks of the warriors' caste. Before 1962, they regulated and controlled Rwandan society, which was composed of Tutsi aristocracy and Hutu commoners, utilizing a clientship structure. They occupied the dominant positions in the sharply stratified society and constituted the ruling class. Origins and classification The historian Christopher Ehret believes that the Tutsi mainly descend from speakers of an extinct branch of South Cushitic languages, South Cushitic he calls "Tale south Cushitic." The Tale southern cushites entered the Great Lakes region s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International security, security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It has 194 Member states of UNESCO, member states and 12 associate members, as well as partners in the Non-governmental organization, non-governmental, Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental and private sector. Headquartered in Paris, France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 National Commissions for UNESCO, national commissions. UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.English summary). UNESCO's founding mission, which was shaped by the events of World War II, is to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights by facilitating collaboratio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of around 6.1 million, nearly 2.3 million of whom live in the Capital city, capital and largest city of Asunción, and its surrounding metro area. Spanish conquistadores arrived in 1524, and in 1537 established the city of Asunción, the first capital of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata. During the 17th century, Paraguay was the center of Reductions, Jesuit missions, where the native Guaraní people were converted to Christianity and introduced to European culture. After the Suppression of the Society of Jesus, expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories in 1767, Paraguay increasingly became a peripheral colony. Following Independence of Paraguay, independence from Spain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Culture Of Rwanda
The culture of Rwanda is varied. Unlike many other countries in Africa, Rwanda has been a unified state since precolonial times, populated by the Banyarwanda people who share a Kinyarwanda, single language and cultural heritage. Music and dance Music and dance are an integral part of Rwandan ceremonies, festivals, social gatherings, and storytelling.Briggs and Booth (2006), p. 29 The most famous traditional dance is ''Intore'', a highly choreographed routine consisting of three components - the ballet, performed by women; the dance of heroes, performed by men, and the drums. Traditionally, music is transmitted orally with styles varying between the social groups. Drums are of great importance, the royal drummers having enjoyed high status within the court of the ''King of Rwanda, mwami''. Drummers usually play together in groups of seven or nine. Rwanda has a growing popular Music of Rwanda, music industry, influenced by East African music, East African, Congolese music (d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Culture Of Burundi
The culture of Burundi is based on local tradition and common influence with its neighbors. People Although referred to as ethnic groups the Hutu, the Tutsi, the Twa, and the Ganwa all share the same culture, language and land. In Kirundi, the national language of Burundi, these ethnic groups are called miryango, which can be translated to clans or tribe. Pre-colonial society Before colonization Burundi and Rwanda formed one kingdom, Ruanda-Urundi. The Burundian part of society was ruled by Kings also called Mwami. There are no records of discrimination during this time. Every clan was involved in royal duties, for inclusion purposes. While there were physical differences between clans, they all shared to same customs and beliefs. Colonial society Burundi's colonization started in the early 19th century, which is later than most African countries. First, German colonizers were assigned Rwanda and Burundi at the Berlin Conference of 1884/1885. Belgians than took over the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Folk Dances
A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances are usually called "religious dances" because of their purpose. The terms "ethnic" and "traditional" are used when it is required to emphasize the cultural roots of the dance. In this sense, nearly all folk dances are ethnic ones. If some dances, such as polka, cross ethnic boundaries and even cross the boundary between "folk" and "ballroom dance", ethnic differences are often considerable enough to mention. Background Folk dances share some or all of the following attributes: *Dances are usually held at folk dance gatherings or social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music. *Dances not generally designed for public performance or the stage, though they may later be arranged and set for stage pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
