Rwanda’s Culture
From the 1880s Rwandans were known for paintings. In fact, even at that time, they used to adorn their houses with unique paintings of whorls. Even though Rwanda culture is mostly occupied with dance, drums, poems, and songs but they keep their cultural crafting intact. They make traditional arts on basketry, do ironworks, and craft on ceramic.
Rwanda's culture was more enriched before the destruction of the art school L’ecole D’art du. The destruction of this cultural institute completely wiped away some traditional cultural heritage. However, the country still has a lot of elements of ancient and contemporary times alike. The art and craft of Rwanda are praised by everyone because they create arts by hand using natural materials only. Woodcarvings are also another great talent of the Rwandans.
All the finished outcomes of precious artworks can be found in the main markets of Rwanda. Most markets and shops of art and crafting are situated in Kigali. It may sound surprising to someone who has not visited Rwanda to observe the Rwanda culture closely but it is true that Rwandans have taken food as art! In restaurants, people enjoy their simple meals in various ways as they are served in an interesting method. Even in the Rwanda restaurants people usually find huge ranges of choices just to have a deep-fried dough dish.
Traditional Architecture in Rwanda
Rwanda's country is packed with cultural architecture, including iconic landmarks, king’s palaces, replication of ancient heritages; all can be found nearby the city even in the middle of city centers. So, travelers do not need to move around just to get some historic sites in Rwanda. It may sound like the expansion of urbanization in Rwanda has not occurred yet but in reality, the country is being developed at a very fast rate without losing the cultural heritage that the country has been attaining for hundreds of years.
Skyscrapers and 5-star hotels may not catch someone’s attention in Rwanda until someone visits the Kigali city. The city has everything to offer to anyone including tourists, ex-pats, and natives. Furthermore, the country is focusing on building new cities and roads to improve the living and transport conditions.
Outdoor Galleries in Rwanda
If someone is tired of seeing the old sculptures and the elements of ancient age then he/she can take a walk outside for a while in Rwanda. Travelers may need to struggle a bit first but once they find the pieces of bright colored walls, stones, oversized portraits in public space then they will forget all the struggle of walking and wondering for in the beautiful streets of Rwanda. People who are interested in ancient intact paintings, media pieces, and sculptures, can amuse themselves in the Inema Arts Center situated in Rwanda.
Attire of Rwandan People
The contemporary clothing of Rwanda is not much complicated. In Kigali or Butare women can wear pants. On the other hand, in a rural area, they prefer to wear skirts, a fitted T-shirt, and light sandals. When it comes to men, they wear formal clothes in cities but in villages and cities, they wear neat and clean cloths. Also, they wear pressed clothing items to look formal while going to their workplaces.
Language and Communication Styles in Rwanda
Rwanda's official languages are Kinyarwanda, Swahili, French, and English. More than 12 million population of Rwanda speaks the Kinyarwanda language which is also a well-known language of the Bantu branch.
When it comes to communication styles in Rwanda, it is always the best option to speak to somebody based on the type of relationship they have and but importantly, how close they are with each other. So, patting or touching a person on a first or second meet might not be appropriate in Rwanda.