Project
Mutabaruka was created by Kalisa Rugano in 1980 and utilises traditional song and dance linked to proverbs and dramatic enactments. The staging of Mutabaruka's Umukino w'Umuganura (The Performance of the First Harvest) took place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda on 5 August 2005. As part of the performance, the National Ballet of Rwanda, costumed in the national flag's colours of blue, green, and yellow, staged a legendary tale of Rwandan heroes. Reflecting the practice of traditional Intore dancers who performed in the king's court, the dancers' hands were spread up and over their heads, mimicking the horns of the revered cow. The dance is called Umushagiriro and is a comparison of the beauty of the cow with the beauty of women. The female dancers represent the walk of the cow with the dance, their chests held up and pushed forward, their arms above their head and footwork patterns adjusting from side to side as a cow might lumber across the road in a herd. Other dances followed, such as the warrior dance, in which the male dancers heads are covered by wigs of long white grass, their feet clad in bells, and in their hands spears and shields. The men occasionally break out into monologues of self praise called Icyivugo which were used to relay tales of heroism to the King. These monologues often praise acts of war, where the battle was fought, and the number of people killed. In the background, is a chorus singing praises of Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills. When asked about the performance, Rugano responded that it was to honour the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) fighters that ended the genocide, a personal tribute to the current President Paul Kagame. The dance glorifies Rwanda, emphasizing how the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa will fight together united in the service of king and country.
