For anyone looking for a rich insight into the Rwandan traditional culture and history, then the National Museum of Rwanda is a place to visit.
Located in Butare, 130km south of Kigali City, the National Museum of Rwanda sits on 20 hectares of land comprising buildings, gardens with indigenous vegetation and the traditional craft training centre.
The museum was opened in 1988 and presented to Rwanda as a gift from Belgium’s King Baudouin I is a good source of information about cultural history of Rwanda and the region.
It helps visitors relate to the scientific description of people, their cultures alongside customs, habits and mutual differences from way back when the East African Kingdoms met Europeans in colonial times.
National Museum of Rwanda is a modern museum that has kept the Rwandan tradition and displays African life and culture. The museum is well documented and equipped to have visitors get a clear picture and understanding of the history and culture of Rwanda.
Some of these include. Maps, Photos, Historical materials, Architectural and ethnographic displays of art objects, Artifacts (documenting agriculture hunting fishing, basketry, pottery, textiles, wood carving, and metallurgy), Gardens containing indigenous vegetation, and a Traditional training centre.
Collection materials archive that includes testimonies on Rwanda’s history given by elders in the community, photographs from the museum’s holdings, and historical audio and video.
The museum has got seven spacious rooms with illustrations of the country’s people from the earliest times to present times.
Visitors are helped through the reception desk that has various pamphlets and books on sale translated in the English Language as well as Kinyarwanda.
A guided tour of the rooms is done, and they are detailed as below;
Room I – which is also the entrance hall has space for temporary displays, a ticket counter and shelves where handcraft items and booklets are sold.
Room II – Materials containing Rwanda’s geographical, geological and the terrain is contained in this room. It has maps, photos, and graphics that offer a detailed comprehensive view of Rwanda’s development of its terrain and the people.
Room III – this details Rwanda’s early inhabitants’ occupations like hunting, gathering, and farming among others. It has got the various tools that were used in transportation, communication, and carrying out work comparing them to the later development tools. It gives an overview of the social importance of livestock farming most especially cattle rearing
Room IV – Exhibits a variety of handicrafts and the making of traditional household items like (pottery, mats, baskets, leatherwork, and wooden shields). Some of the items contained in this room are used for social-economic activities like farming, cattle rearing, beekeeping, hunting, etc.
Room V – Here you find portrays of the Rwandan traditional architecture, ancient ways of living, and social organization.
Room VI – Displays the traditional wear/clothing that was used in sporting events, and social events like dancing.
Room VII – Information relating to traditional culture and customs, history, a chronology of the Kings, oral history, and poetry among others is contained in this room. It provides the necessary knowledge needed to understand the origin of Rwandan culture and social behaviors.
The museum contains refreshment areas with good service. The most recommended are the king’s palace, and the smaller milk and beer huts as most interesting for anyone not to miss out.
