Rwandan, Burundian artistes revel in cultural similarities

HUYE – All roads led to the Institute of National Museums of Rwanda, last Sunday, for Karame Muco’ cultural festival, which attracted about 70 young Rwandan and Burundian artistes.The ‘Karame Muco’ Festival, (long life to the culture), was organised by a local association called ‘Karame Muco Nyarwanda.’ Founded in 2010, the association uses Rwandan traditional values to promote a culture of tolerance, peace and dialogue.The five-day festival wrapped up, last Sunday, with artistes from Rwanda and Burundi performing in various domains, including dance, drumming, sports, poetry, fashion and cuisine. At one point, participating Rwandans and Burundians shared the stage to dance the Rwandan traditional “Imishayayo”.“This event has brought together two nations and two peoples…to strengthen our ties. British people use football to strengthen their unity; for Burundians and Rwandans, it should be through our shared dancing and drumming culture,” said Alphonse Umulisa, the Director General of the Institute of National Museums of Rwanda (INMR).“Young people should always be at the center of such activities and strive to safeguard the culture because without it we will lose our identity”.Philemon Nshimiyimana, Executive Secretary of Karame Muco Nyarwanda Association, told us the festival aims to bring the youth together to reflect on the importance of culture in the life of a nation.“Some of our cultural values are being abandoned under the pressure of the so-called development trends”. “This is a way of reminding the youth of the values which characterized the Rwandan society and inspiring them to take action accordingly,” Nshimiyimana added. Cynthia Inamahoro, one of the participants, said the festival was an opportunity to discover the similarities between the Rwandan and Burundian cultures.“I got to realize that Rwandans and Burundians make one people and that our cultures are strongly linked. For instance, the way our ancestors used to clothe themselves is almost the same. Another strong bond is our languages which are practically two in one, said the 21-year old girl from Kayanza Province of Burundi.

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Rwandan, Burundian artistes revel in cultural similarities