Dressed to Dance
Nyungwe Cultural Village is a traditional dance troupe from Gisakura, the community where One&Only Nyungwe House is located. The troupe was founded in 2017 and is a part of the Nyungwe Cultural Village cooperative, the community and culture that surrounds Nyungwe National Park with more than 50 members, the majority of whom are women and young people. The Nyungwe Cultural Village dance troupe began performing for guests at One&Only Nyungwe House in 2018.
Placide Tuyisenge is the leader of the Nyungwe Cultural Village cooperative and dance troupe. He is someone who loves to share ideas and work with fellow members to make them a reality. He is thrilled to see the troupe thriving and growing, and it makes him proud of the impact of his leadership.
“My life has changed since I joined the cooperative. We not only dance, but also support visitors to Nyungwe National Park by introducing them to local cuisine, preparing itineraries, hosting them at our lodge and guiding them through cultural traditions like Umuganura, Rwanda’s National Harvest Day. All these activities contribute to sustainable tourism around the park, and enable us to earn a living,” says Placide.
One&Only Nyungwe House’s partnership with Nyungwe Cultural Village began in early 2018 and today it is wide ranging. At the resort, guests can purchase unique arts and crafts made by hand by cooperative members. One&Only Nyungwe House also provides internships and weekly training in the hospitality and culinary departments to the cooperative’s younger members. As they complete the training, they can apply the skills learned to take care of guests at the lodge run by the cooperative. Furthermore, the cooperative has been hired to manage a native tree nursery for the resort, which supports reforestation efforts around the property.
“As a result of the partnership, we were able to establish training and development programmes to provide skills to the members of the cooperative especially in the tourism and hospitality sector. One&Only supports us by giving practical skills to our members to boost their professionalism and growth,” said Placide.
Like all dancers in Rwanda, the Nyungwe Cultural Village troupe has a traditional apparel that distinguishes them from other cultures around the world. While performing, the troupe wears headgear known as Umugara, made out of banana leaves, a bow and shield for Intore (for the male dancers), Umushanana (the typical attire for dancers), t-shirts and hats for men, sleeveless vest tops for women and necklaces called Inigi. The performers dance to the beat and melody of drums, flutes, a trough zither (known as Inanga) and ankle bells (Amayugi).
Rwanda’s rich culture and traditions make it stand out on the global stage and form the foundation for the strong and unique identity that Rwandans carry with pride.
“It is said that a country that lacks culture lacks identity. It’s always crucial to admire and nurture our culture, be proud to represent our country, and pass on what we’ve learned to the younger generation,” says Placide.