Gorilla guardian’s village which is also known as Iby’iwacu cultural village meaning ‘treasure of our home’. This home shows the real treasure behind the existence of tourism in Rwanda and the incredibly amazing experience of Rwanda gorilla trekking. It’s located in Kinigi in the Musanze district of Rwanda. Iby’iwacu cultural village offers an adventurous stay in the traditional Rwandan village that has existed for centuries living with and next to mountain gorillas in Parc National des Volcans mostly known as Volcanoes National Park.
What a visitor has to expect at the gorilla guardians Village
Iby’iwacu cultural village is one of the leading cultural attractions in Rwanda. It gives visitors to Rwanda rare chance to meet local people in their indigenous environment. Travelers are able to visit the different cultural sites and participate in different cultural activities all combined in the Gorilla guardian’s village. The village gives an insight into the everyday lives of the village communities in ancient Rwanda. When the visitors arrive at the main gate they are welcomed by loud drumming, while the local people are singing and dancing in their traditional way of life. This welcomes you to an area with a variety of cultural activities as detailed below;
Visit the king’s palace replica
Here the visitors have showcased the ancient Rwanda king’s stories, the meaning of different symbols within the palace, and how the kings were enthroned. If you are willing, you can be enthroned to become a king for a few minutes or hours by the village elder and exercise the king’s powers.
Participate/watch in the traditional dances and music
The village offers different types of traditional dances. When it comes to music, all people in the village men, women, youths, and children have to participate because they find it really interesting. Rwanda has a variety of traditional dances including; the famous Intore dance, Ibyivugo dance, Umuduri dance, Agakenke dance, Inanga dance, Amakondera dance, Iningiri dance, and Ikembe dance.
The Intore dance is the most famous traditional dance of Rwanda, it has a highly choreographed routine consisting of three components.
The Intore dance is a special Rwanda traditional dance originated from a political asylum-seeker group from Burundi called the Abayange in the early years of the reign of king Mutara II Rwogera in 1830-1853, when the political rivalry broke out in the neighboring southern Burundi kingdom.
A Busoni royal figure called Muyange fled from Burundi with his dancers Abayange and sought asylum in Rwanda. Obviously, such a royal figure had to be given security at the king’s palace.
One day, Abayange were given a chance to entertain king Rwogera at the palace and they exhibited a dance that the king and his army liked. Abayange dance mostly caught the interest of the Rwanda royal army. As a result, Rwanda’s royal army entwined the fighting tactics and songs into the dance that was formerly performed by the Abayange, making it an evolution of the army’s dance.
From then onwards, the army exhibited their heroism only through the dance in a ceremony known as “kuvuga amacumu”, a literary translated as talking about spears, to which added music and dance.
Meet the traditional healers
Visitors to the village have an opportunity to see the local traditional healer and take a lesson on how to create medicine from local plants and grasses. Village healers played a big role in their communities in ancient times and until now they still do the same thing. When you are at the gorilla guardian’s village, some traditional healers are eager to perform their medical skills, you may feel free to test the local medicine because they may cure longtime illnesses, and a good chance the local herbs have no side effects like the other medicine.
Taking local brew
Apart from the joy and relaxation that drinking alcohol brings, taking local beer in a group setting was a unifying activity within the African traditional social setting. This was particularly so during the numerous ceremonies like that of new harvest and welcoming newborns. For one to fit in and appear involved during these ceremonies, they had to take part in the drinking. While visiting the Iby’iwacu cultural village, you will learn how the banana brew is made and fermented. You are expected to actively participate crowning it with at least a sip of the final product.
Make a community walk and again visit the Batwa community
A community walk together with your guide and accompanied by the host in the village can take you across the village and have the best chance to experience African culture right in their communities. One of the most interesting courses of the walk is to visit the Batwa community who were former fruit gatherers and hunters but now adopting a new means of income generation with their incomparable art of pottery. You can also engage in the Batwa pottery-making experience and lessons.
Besides the pottery, you can Join the local people when they go to their agricultural fields to work and learn about their work in planting, weeding, and harvesting. And also learn about food preparations and making processes like millet grinding using stones, carrying potatoes from the garden and water from the wells and ponds around on their heads, attending the lesson and participating in the preparation of local dishes like Ubugari, Igikoma, and many others but feel free to enjoy the meals you have prepared with the local people.
In conclusion
This great cultural center is the perfect place to go for a retreat after carrying out some of Rwanda’s more famous tourism activities like Mountain Gorilla trekking in the Virunga National Park, mountain hiking or biking through the Congo Nile Trail. Because of its uniqueness, we are convinced that visiting the Iby’iwacu cultural village will turn out to be one of the more memorable experiences while on your safari.