Category: Arts & Culture

However, a historical analysis of the epochs in Rwanda shows that no era ever completely achieved gender equality in all aspects; our ancestors established and built upon this throughout all times.

In this history, we aim to reveal the image of gender equality and complementarity in the Rwandan family, both in ancient times and today.

Gender Equality in Decision-Making Levels

Gender equality in decision-making levels has been a practice confronted by Rwanda, where Gihanga Ngomijana founded a kingdom governed by a king, decreeing that for centuries, the king would rule alongside his mother. One being the ruler and the other the queen, both having equal power in making decisions that guide the country.

This is a testament to the high level of gender equality and complementarity in decision-making levels in ancient Rwanda.

Among the rulers of Rwanda over the 870 years (1091-1961), history shows that it was governed by 28 kings and 27 queens.

Not only was there a queen’s role in the highest leadership levels, but there were also women in significant positions, leading army troops, others as chiefs of hills.

Among them, we mention Nyirarunyonga of Gihanga, who led the Abahiza army, Nyanguge za Sagashya, the wife of Cyilima Rugwe who led the Abaliza army, and Mitunga of Rujugira, who led the Abatanyagwa army.

We must not forget some of the women known to have been Chiefs during the reigns of King Musinga and Rudahigwa.

Among them, we speak of Nyirakabuga of Cyigenza of Rwakagara (wife of Musinga, mother of Rwigemera) who managed the Sous-Chefferie of Vumwe within the Chefferie of Gihunya in the Territoire of Kibungo, during the reign of Mutara Rudahigwa.

Gender Equality in Education

Education in Rwanda is not a recent concept, but rather an ancient one, confronted by Rwanda.

School education initially was established by Gihanga around 1120, when he set up the Itorero of Rwanda ( what we can now call civil education ) as a knowledge dissemination school both in Rwanda and the surrounding countries.

Education in the Itorero lasted 10 years for boys and eight years for girls.

There, they were trained in various subjects, including some common courses. This is where they learned medicine, governance, judiciary, agriculture, animal husbandry, weaving, construction, metalwork, household chores, and more.

Women spent eight years there before going to the Rubohero to implement what they learned, while the men continued to receive combat training, after which they would go to defend and fight for the country.

Many say that girls did not attend the Itorero because they were not dressed decently enough, rather they went to Rubohero.

However, history tells us that they did attend the Itorero, but had their own separate programs, never mixing with the boys.

Rubohero was a place where they came together to apply what they learned in the Itorero (Workshop).

Education and upbringing were a principal for Rwandan children, with no one excluded. This is evidenced by their behavior, intelligence, and skills in serving their families and the country in general.

Gender Equality in Property

Due to the abundance of diverse wealth in ancient Rwanda, there was no fierce competition for money, which prevented descendants from fighting over family wealth.

When a girl got married and left her family, she was not concerned about going back to her family to demand inheritance as we see today, because she was already satisfied with what she found in her new home, moving from one set of circumstances to another.

Although the pursuit of wealth from their parents by married girls in other places did not occur, the principle of gender equality for both sexes in property was indirectly maintained.

When a girl went through the traditional doorway ( what we can call a traditional wedding now ), her family would give her a hoe and land to farm on, and also grant her cows and a pasture to graze them. This was her family’s gift to her, not a way of sharing or inheriting.

Another principle in sharing property among siblings of both sexes was that nieces and nephews should be gifted by their uncles.

This was also a way to balance the property of the parents indirectly for both sexes in ancient Rwanda.

Instead of a girl dividing the property she left at her parents’ home and also that of her new home, a principle of social harmony was established that what she would have shared at her parents’ home was given to her children, who would receive it from their maternal grandfather, represented by their uncles, the brothers of her mother.

If you had children, no matter how many, all were gifted by their uncles. They were given cows, pastures

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First thing, you need to keep it simple. Why? Because the best stories share something profound and real about the human experience but do so very quietly. Take the popular six-word story for example: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

There’s a lot of meaning and depth to this story but stated in simple terms. These words don’t directly give us context, but also gives a nuance that communicates the truth of our world. Cool, right?

Simple stories also do a great job drawing on emotion as opposed to getting caught up in anything else. Although it might be genius to present a product or service in a 60-second-thriller-full-of-combat-and-epic-moves, you’re likely to lose your main point in the chaos.

So what’s your story really about? If you can articulate that in one sentence, then you’re ready to tell a good story. You’ll soon be able to communicate with and connect with people in analogies and metaphors.

You might wonder ‘Why not Use Words’?

Video is a visual and aural medium. Non-verbal stories do wonders for people. So many wonders, you would not believe it. This not only draws viewers in but also gets to the emotional core of a story much quicker. These share something profound about life, without the need of saying much.

If you can find a way to tell your story without words, you’ll be much more successful in persuading your audience.

If you ever need the right, audio-visual company that would do wonders for you, Storykast – a video production and photography company that has years of experience in crafting visual stories of brands in marketing as well as in advertising, will perform the magic you still haven’t figured you need.

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This is a kind of trade is quite vibrant in Musanze, the hub of Rwanda’s tourism industry. Art pieces are ubiquitous everywhere you go, especially around Kinigi where tourists visit to not only see the famous mountain gorillas but also other attraction this place offers. Art pieces can be found hanging on the walls of hotels and among other places the tourists are likely to visit.

According to an article appearing in Tourism&More, “artistic tourism attracts people who are willing to spend money. Numerous studies from around the world have shown that people who include the arts in their travel plans often have higher income levels than other tourists to that locale, have a greater likelihood of staying in local hotel, take longer trips and shop more.”

There are several art galleries that have opened their doors where tourists can go and purchase these pieces. Art centers and galleries found in Musanze include (located along the road to Kinigi), and Red Rocks Art Gallery, located in Kinigi. Apart from these, there are individual artists and craftsmen that sell their products in Musanze, such as COPABU Cooperative and Kinigi Community Commercial Center (KCCC) Cooperative.

The Red Rocks Art Gallery, which opened on January 5, is one of the newest in Rwanda.

Willy Karekezi, a visual artist in Kigali, says he paints in Kigali, but transports some of his pieces to Musanze where they are displayed in different galleries there.

“Some tourists come to visit Rwanda for a day or two and they head straight to Musanze for gorilla trekking. These tourists are unable to visit the art galleries in Kigali, and that’s why I take some of my pieces to Kinigi where tourists can easily find and purchase them,” he says.

This is one of Kigali-based Willy Karekezi’s latest paintings, hanging in the Red Rocks Art Gallery in Kinigi, near the Volcanoes National Park.

“Tourism is quite vibrant here in Kinigi and we discovered that through art, the artists can not only produce aesthetic pieces that appeal to the eyes of the tourists but also art pieces with bold messages behind them about conservation. Through this, both the tourists and the locals become conscious about environmental protection through the eyes of an artist,” says Greg Bakunzi, founder of the Red Rocks Art Gallery.

Hotels surrounding the main tourist attractions in Musanze are cashing in on this trend, playing host to several art pieces and exhibitions from artists as far as Kigali. At the Red Rocks Cultural Center in Nyakinama village, you find pieces of artwork placed strategically at the reception, and more often than not when a tourist wants to depart, he or she is likely to buy these art pieces.

Mohamed Ndabaye, a resident artist at Red Rocks Cultural Center, says over the last few years, tourism in Musanze has tremendously grown, and this has been a boon to them since they are able to produce and sell more pieces.

“Rwandan artists mostly rely on tourists Only a few locals purchase our products. It’s therefore prudent to strategically place our products where tourists can easily reach them. It’s good that more galleries are opening doors here in Musanze, and artists are now able to find places they can display and market their products,” says Bakunzi.
By Joseph Ondiek

The painting, which was once part of Charles I’s Royal collection and was sold for just £45 in the 1950s when it was mistaken for a copy, is the last remaining Leonardo in private hands.

It sold for a total amount, including fees paid by the winner to the auction house, of $450,312,500 million following 19 minutes of bidding at Christie’s in New York – despite lingering questions by some experts over its authenticity and condition.

Four telephone bidders and one in the auction room dueled for the masterpiece, which had a guaranteed pre-sale bid of at least $100 million.

The hammer eventually fell at $400 million, leading to applause and cheers by the stunned crowd. The victor – one of the phone bidders – was not immediately identified on Wednesday night.

The painting depicts Christ in a blue robe holding a crystal orb, which represents the Earth, and is one of fewer than 20 paintings by the grand master known still to exist.

Leonardo, who died in 1519, is thought to have painted Salvator Mundi sometime after 1500, during the same period that he produced the Mona Lisa, and it made its way into the Royal collection of Charles I in the early Seventeenth Century.

It then disappeared in 1763 until 1900, when it was acquired by Sir Charles Robinson, an art collector, for the Cook Collection, Doughty House, Richmond. At the time, the painting was thought to have been by Leonardo’s follower, Bernardino Luini and Christ’s face and hair had been painted over.

Source:The Telegraph

Leave it to Google to think big. The internet giant partnered with 50 organizations across the country to create the largest digital collection of U.S. Latino art, culture and history ever curated online.

The project, intended to preserve and share stories and exhibits related to Latino history in the United States, went live today – just days before the official start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15.

“The Google Arts & Culture: Latino Cultures in the US collection is a labor of love for many Googlers and partner institutions. It was a project that was more than a year in the making and took an small army to help digitize the 2,500 new artworks and curate 69 new exhibits,” says Jesús García, Head of Hispanic Communications, Google & YouTube.

The digital exhibit has over 4,300 archives and artworks – including Diego Rivera murals – related to the Latino experience in the U.S., multimedia exhibits in English and Spanish and virtual tours of historic sites, as well as profiles of key Latino figures, such as Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

The massive collection aims to show the cultural contributions and impact of Latinos in the United States going all the way back to the 1500’s. The site will become a permanent online fixture.

A section dedicated to Latinos in news and entertainment features photos and interviews with iconic actors such as Héctor Elizondo, Rita Moreno, Edward James Olmos and the late Ricardo Montalbán talking about stereotypical portrayals of Latinos in Hollywood, how they were typecast and how they dealt with those challenges, which continue to be an issue today.

As British author Neil Gaiman put it, “a book is a dream that you hold in your hand”, the truth supported by Haepi Bookstore, an establishment situated in the centre of the capital city, Kigali, at Ubumwe Grande building; you won’t certainly miss it, the “Books & Convenience” sign words will seduce you to enter the bookstore.

It’s in the morning of the 23rd January 2017 that Haepi Bookstore opened with a vision of being East Africa’s most customer-centric bookstore that provides convenience and timeliness as well as top class experience to shoppers of knowledge and information.

Less than a year in operations, many have visited the cocoon but one may wonder…what is special about this place? Which services do they offer? And who dares to walk in? Well let’s talk a bit about the perfect bookstore.

What makes Haepi Bookstore unique is not just the fact that it is only a bookstore in city centre but also the cut-tailored services that they offer. If you are a book nerd or looking to spend some quality time, here are some of the services customised for your pleasure.

Library Services: Haepi Bookstore offers different library services with a wide collection of books ranging from fiction, literature, novels and magazines to newspapers and children story books… in fact, every genre is there and you will enjoy that calm and delightful place it is.

Book Shopping: Interested in buying a good book, then Haepi Bookstore is the perfect place for you and if you don’t want to move a toe to the shop, then order it via their website and it will be delivered to your residence or workplace immediately at no added cost.

Events and Meetings: Haepi Bookstore hosts events and meetings such as book clubs meetings, Books Signing and Readings, Reader’s coffee time for adults, Story time for children aged 2 to 5 years, Guided reading time for children aged 6 to 12 years, Bookworms Coffee Time and courses for aspiring authors, just to mention but a few.

Coffee, Snacks and free Wi-Fi: If you are an on-go reader, the bookstore comprises of a coffee shop corner where you can sit and read or enjoy surfing on the internet.
Haepi Bookstore which vows to help in developing the reading culture in Rwanda, provides to clients with a carefully chosen mix of bestseller and high interest books as well as other print and audio-visual materials, in different categories and ranges of prices, reflecting the unique character of the sub-region’s diverse population.

On a bonus note, being a member of Haepi Bookstore costs almost nothing as the annual membership costs only 10,000frw for an adult and 5,000frw for the under twelve years old. Members may borrow books from Haepi library for a minimal fee, enjoy 5% discount on book purchases, host their book-related events at Haepi Bookstore for free, be the first to be informed of new releases, top book arrivals and discount offers, all that for the next 365 days after joining the Haepi bookworm family.

“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not fooling a soul.” -Neil Gaiman. Has Kigali got a bookstore now? Definitely yes, Haepi Bookstore, call it Books One-Stop Centre. What are you waiting for? Check it out today!