ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM

Butare's main attraction remains the Ethnographic Museum (formerly called the National Museum), one of Rwanda's eight national museums, which houses what is probably one of the finest ethnological collections in East Africa. Offered by the King of the Belgians Baudouin I, inaugurated in 1989, it offers an exceptional view of pre-colonial lifestyles and the transformation of Rwanda into a modern African state. The collection, which is at once historical, ethnographic, artistic and archaeological, with objects that are often very old, is presented in seven rooms covering 2,700 m². A temporary exhibition is devoted to the technological evolution in Rwanda before the arrival of the settlers.

The building that houses the museum, the work of Belgian architect and ethnologist Lode Van Pee, is worth a visit. The roof, for example, is supposed to reflect the polyrhythm of the drums. The traditional motifs embedded in the masonry are reminiscent of shields, pots, baskets... The play of shadows accentuates the link between the two. The shadows accentuate the link between the two. As for the layout below the road, it is intended to welcome the visitor. "Its orientation is neither parallel nor perpendicular to the path. It fits into the main relief of the hill at an angle," explains Lode Van Pee, who suggests seeing the museum and its enclosure as an inzu (case) in an urugo (enclosure), now surrounded by a superbly renovated surrounding wall, reminiscent of the design of imigongo art.

The museum includes several rooms dedicated to the geographical, geological and linguistic information of Rwanda, the discovery of objects used in various sectors of activity such as agriculture, livestock, beekeeping, hunting (amazing leopard traps), fishing, basketry, pottery and woodworking, the different types of Rwandan architecture, ancient ways of life and social organization, traditional clothing and ornaments (a showcase is dedicated to the famous traditional Intre dancers), prehistory, with a chronology of kings (bami), based on written and oral traditions. The museum also deals with metallurgy, traditional religious practices, marriage and music. Photographs of all the presidents since independence are displayed on a wall. Since 1995, three new sections have been opened: a modern arts section, a centre for learning trades and a ballet with some 30 dancers who perform at certain events.