This weekend we finally ventured out of Kigali to visit a cultural village, go gorilla trekking, and stay in a town called Gisenyi by Lake Kivu. The whole experience was made a bit more comfortable with the help of our friends at the embassy, whose driver took us up north in the luxurious Chevy suburban. The poverty and desperation becomes much more clear when leaving the city, and the standard of living is extremely different. It is amazing to see kids of five or six carrying huge canisters of water, a large bag of potatoes or corn on their head, or a machete used to cut grass in their hands. Some are even working in the fields plowing, digging, and working on the crops. The countryside is absolutely beautiful, and we understand now why they call Rwanda "The Land of a Thousand Hills". The vegetation is lush and green, and the hills and mountains roll off into the distance until they fade away into the clouds. When we arrived in Musanze, we checked in to the Kinigi Guesthouse, which had beautiful gardens, stone sidewalks, and (most importantly) a restaurant with hot food and cold beer. Luckily the receptionist at the guesthouse knew someone who worked in the cultural village, who was able to set up a visit the afternoon we arrived. Our guide was super friendly and even told us that we were Rwandan once we stepped into the village. Ibi Wacu is comprised of around 2,000 people, of whom most are ex gorilla poachers. Because of this cultural village project and other efforts, 95% of poaching has been reduced because the men are able to make money from tourism as opposed to poaching.
Before entering the king's house, our guide told us that we must appoint a king, since the current king is living in Texas (not allowed back in Rwanda unless he's willing to denounce his king status). We had to appoint the only male, our friend Adrian, who was then allowed to enter the palace and put on his royal attire. He then welcomed us both into his house, and our guide made us aware of the privileges of kingdom. The most interesting to us was that the king technically owned all Rwandan women. If he saw a beautiful woman walking on the road, he could take her with him for a few days (spent on his 'king size bed'), then would send her home with a few cows and some land. Because of this, women's husbands would willingly allow them to leave with the king (and of course the threat of death if they protested usually kept them from trying to stop the king as well).
After donning traditional dresses, getting a tour of the king's bedroom, and learning the customs, we were greeted by the sound of drums and singing outside the king's house. The performers were dressed in warrior costumes and danced proudly to the beat of the drums. We then moved on to grind sorghum (a starch used to make porridge) with two large stones as women still do in smaller villages. A medicine man showed us a few different mixtures he used for ailments such as backaches, difficulty conceiving, and trouble 'getting it up'. We're pretty sure one of the remedies smelled like marijuana, but we didn't like to question traditional medicines. Drummers then performed for us, and invited us to join in on the action. The warriors each did their own unique dance, and by the end, had us all dancing along and teaching us some moves (not that we could actually follow, but we tried). Our experience ended with many thanks from the villagers and guide, and an escort from about 10 local kids who held our hands as we walked down the road to catch moto's. Another beautiful experience in Rwanda...
xo Cait
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