Dancing back to Rwanda with Intwari
Oct 20, 2005
The singer’s voice had become hoarse, but the drummers kept thundering away. The 12 dancers from the Kinyarwanda Troupe, Intwari, were leaping and prancing by the Hotel Africana poolside.
By Titus Serunjogi
The singer’s voice had become hoarse, but the drummers kept thundering away. The 12 dancers from the Kinyarwanda Troupe, Intwari, were leaping and prancing by the Hotel Africana poolside.
In the twinkling of an eye, the dancers had split into two rows. Hissing and gnashing their teeth, they wielded their spears and charged at each other.
But the dancers did not stab each other. Halting midway, they reared backwards and broke into vivacious dancing.
This was the famous Kinyarwanda Intore dance. As we watched the dancers, it seemed like we were looking back in time, into the court of the Umwami (King) of Rwanda. There, hunters wearing lions’ manes and tiny ankles bells danced before the throne. Hundred years ago, Umwami would reward the hunters with beautiful women. But this time, the audience flooded the dancers with countless banknotes and ululation.
And we were yet to be enchanted. Six beautiful girls glided in to perform Umseke, a feel-good folk dance. Gracefully swaying and swirling their arms, they pranced so effortlessly and yet in rhythm with the drumbeats.
“Rwandese women must dance with their palms raised, imitating a cow’s horns,†said Grace Uwera, a student at Kampala International University and a dancer with Intwari. This practice is derived from old fertility rituals. Whenever a boy fell in love with a girl, he expressed it by dancing the Umurambagizo outside her father’s house. If the girl was ready to marry him, she came out and dance with him.
“Such courtship rituals have long died away in Rwanda,†says Zak Mbanda, the founder of the Intwari Cultural Troupe.
Fortunately, anyone can still relive the old sensations of the Umurambagizo with the Intwari. You will also revel in the Rukundo, another courtship dance that was so popular in olden Rwanda.
Girls and boys would gather and dance under the full moon’s light. Rukundo is done to pulsating drumbeats. The men prance and leap rhythmically, while the girls sway and float about like fairies. Any spectator will be delighted.
However, you will be baffled to learn that few of the dancers have ever been to the homeland that they celebrate! “Many of the dancers were born in Uganda,†says Mbanda. It seems a sweet way to earn a living, celebrating your heritage. And today, many of the dancers have reached heights that their parents had never dreamt of. Some of them can pay fees at universities and in secondary schools.
Intwari has evolved into the most-highly sought after cultural dance troupe in town, performing for no less than sh500,000 a show. They came into the spotlight in 2002 when they trounced all the other cultural dance troupes at the Table of the Sun festival at Namboole Stadium.
Since then, they have performed at many upscale weddings, introductions and parties. And it seems they are tipped for international fame. They are set to perform at next year’s Festival of the Dhow Counties in Zanzibar.
The Intwari won’t let go of even the tiniest hook of their culture. Even the youngest member of the group, seven year-old Bina Ginozo, has learnt why she must dance with her hands so upraised as to form a cow’s horns. Their drums are still maintained in a typical Kinyarwanda style. They are regularly smothered in a mix of fresh cow’s blood and rock salt.
“Our drums are just as dear to us as cows,†says John Babiiha, one of the dancers. When the drummers begin thumping away, the drums give a sound alike to the rumbling of thunder or the clashing of the waves.
You should have heard all such percussion sounds in Nyaruguru, one of the folk songs that the Intwari danced to at Hotel Africana last weekend.
This venerates a sacred grove in Rwanda where only the Umwami used to tread. The singer belts out in a great soulful voice that seems to reach up the vault. All the 700 guests were enrapt with yearning; they closed their eyes and let the drumbeats sway them. Meanwhile, the ‘heroes’ pranced and leaped.
It was not only beautiful, but also divine.
At the end of their performance, we all did not doubt anymore. Intwari are flag bearers of the old beauty, the grace and the soulfulness of old Rwanda.
Ends
The singer’s voice had become hoarse, but the drummers kept thundering away. The 12 dancers from the Kinyarwanda Troupe, Intwari, were leaping and prancing by the Hotel Africana poolside.
In the twinkling of an eye, the dancers had split into two rows. Hissing and gnashing their teeth, they wielded their spears and charged at each other.
But the dancers did not stab each other. Halting midway, they reared backwards and broke into vivacious dancing.
This was the famous Kinyarwanda Intore dance. As we watched the dancers, it seemed like we were looking back in time, into the court of the Umwami (King) of Rwanda. There, hunters wearing lions’ manes and tiny ankles bells danced before the throne. Hundred years ago, Umwami would reward the hunters with beautiful women. But this time, the audience flooded the dancers with countless banknotes and ululation.
And we were yet to be enchanted. Six beautiful girls glided in to perform Umseke, a feel-good folk dance. Gracefully swaying and swirling their arms, they pranced so effortlessly and yet in rhythm with the drumbeats.
“Rwandese women must dance with their palms raised, imitating a cow’s horns,†said Grace Uwera, a student at Kampala International University and a dancer with Intwari. This practice is derived from old fertility rituals. Whenever a boy fell in love with a girl, he expressed it by dancing the Umurambagizo outside her father’s house. If the girl was ready to marry him, she came out and dance with him.
“Such courtship rituals have long died away in Rwanda,†says Zak Mbanda, the founder of the Intwari Cultural Troupe.
Fortunately, anyone can still relive the old sensations of the Umurambagizo with the Intwari. You will also revel in the Rukundo, another courtship dance that was so popular in olden Rwanda.
Girls and boys would gather and dance under the full moon’s light. Rukundo is done to pulsating drumbeats. The men prance and leap rhythmically, while the girls sway and float about like fairies. Any spectator will be delighted.
However, you will be baffled to learn that few of the dancers have ever been to the homeland that they celebrate! “Many of the dancers were born in Uganda,†says Mbanda. It seems a sweet way to earn a living, celebrating your heritage. And today, many of the dancers have reached heights that their parents had never dreamt of. Some of them can pay fees at universities and in secondary schools.
Intwari has evolved into the most-highly sought after cultural dance troupe in town, performing for no less than sh500,000 a show. They came into the spotlight in 2002 when they trounced all the other cultural dance troupes at the Table of the Sun festival at Namboole Stadium.
Since then, they have performed at many upscale weddings, introductions and parties. And it seems they are tipped for international fame. They are set to perform at next year’s Festival of the Dhow Counties in Zanzibar.
The Intwari won’t let go of even the tiniest hook of their culture. Even the youngest member of the group, seven year-old Bina Ginozo, has learnt why she must dance with her hands so upraised as to form a cow’s horns. Their drums are still maintained in a typical Kinyarwanda style. They are regularly smothered in a mix of fresh cow’s blood and rock salt.
“Our drums are just as dear to us as cows,†says John Babiiha, one of the dancers. When the drummers begin thumping away, the drums give a sound alike to the rumbling of thunder or the clashing of the waves.
You should have heard all such percussion sounds in Nyaruguru, one of the folk songs that the Intwari danced to at Hotel Africana last weekend.
This venerates a sacred grove in Rwanda where only the Umwami used to tread. The singer belts out in a great soulful voice that seems to reach up the vault. All the 700 guests were enrapt with yearning; they closed their eyes and let the drumbeats sway them. Meanwhile, the ‘heroes’ pranced and leaped.
It was not only beautiful, but also divine.
At the end of their performance, we all did not doubt anymore. Intwari are flag bearers of the old beauty, the grace and the soulfulness of old Rwanda.
Ends