Culture is one of the indices that signify personal and natural identity. I could not think of a better description of the word ‘culture’ than those of Walter Rodney, a prominent Guyanese historian and political activist who said,“Culture is a total way of life, it embraces what people ate and what they wore, the way they walked and the way they talked, the manner in which they treated death and the way they greeted newborns”.
I concur with Walter Rodney as I am sure many of you do too. But the question has risen on the minds of many of the youth today, as to how our cultural values and morals can coincide with today’s constant changing economic, political but mostly social status. We all agree that Rwanda was a very different country ten years ago and will be even more so in next ten years. The futuristic destination of our country is quite the same as the rest of our neighboring nations (maybe even a little more) both at home in Africa, as well as, abroad in developing countries, but the cultures and traditional values remain the same.
Let us look at examples such as India, a former British colony, which is now has one of the biggest movie industries in the world after the U.S, producing over 1000 movies per year. Today, the movie industry has helped India’s economy grow by 50 percent to 60 percent. The film industry in India though, still has a clear understanding and respect of its moral obligation in respecting and keeping the country’s cultural values alive. If you have ever watched a Hindu movie, you can clearly see their cultural and moral beliefs portrayed all over the screen ; there is no nudity, no kissing. The portrayal of a true and virtuous Indian woman is captured showing a man attempting to woo a woman but she will not be screened with him alone without a chaperon, until the day she is married.
Many of these traditions are still being practised today, even though the way they dress is more modern and their ideas towards educating women has dramatically changed over the last decade. Many of their thousand years old cultural values and traditions have remained, the most commonly known in India is arranged marriages. The same goes to China where a thousand year old traditions are still being practised everywhere and every day. They uphold their culture starting from their amazing calligraphy that cannot be imitated anywhere else in the world. When tourists go to China, they go there hoping to see the Great Wall of China among other different cultural attractions. I doubt people go all the way across the globe to experience the latest Nokia phone.
I decided to start with these examples to explain to our youth that despite living in the 21th century, we ought to keep our old traditions and cultural values alive while still being very much a part of today’s society.
From the earliest inhabitants of Rwanda, who were hunters and gatherers, ouor rich culture plays a major role in our tourism sector today. Many of the tourists, who visit Rwanda every year always remember the ‘intore’ dancers since that is what they want to see the most. The dance touches on different aspects like keeping our culture alive, teaching us how our ancestors would prepare for hunting or prepare for battle among others. It also depicts the story of their bravery and excellent skills. In our culture, traditional gatherers would gather cow dung to build their hut. This culture has not died either. In fact, when you walk into various arts and craft shops, restaurants, cafes and homes, you will notice that paintings made from cow dung are sold not only in Rwanda, but across the globe.
The same goes for the weaving of baskets which has now become a great source of revenue for Rwandan women who were victims of the genocide. These baskets come with new meaning and importance without losing its old cultural meaning. Rwandans called them ‘Agaseke’ and they still carry the name today. The only difference is that since the genocide, they have come to be known as ‘Baskets of Peace’ because women of various ethnic backgrounds can come together and weave baskets together as one people.
I believe that every time tourists arrive in Rwanda and experience all the above, they have not only experienced a new and improved Rwanda, which is currently up to speed with all of society’s latest trends and futuristic dreams.
Beyond this, they also leave with a clear, beautiful and realistic image of where Rwanda is truly from, what it is about, how we live, our beliefs and traditions, our moral integrity and most importantly our cultural history.
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