ARTS & CRAFTS:

 

 

Traditional arts and crafts are produced throughout the country, although most originated as functional items rather than purely for decoration.

 

Woven baskets and bowls are especially common. 

 

Imigongo, a unique cow dung art, is produced in the southeast of Rwanda, with a history dating back to when the region was part of the independent Gisaka kingdom. The dung is mixed with natural soils of various colors and painted into patterned ridges to form geometric shapes.

 

Other crafts include pottery and wood carving.

 

Traditional housing styles make use of locally available materials; circular or rectangular mud homes with grass-thatched roofs (known as nyakatsi) are the most common.

 

Clothing was traditionally made from barkcloth and animal skins. Traditional female dress, called the mushanana, consists of a floor-length skirt with a sash draped over one shoulder, worn over a tank top or bustier. Traditional male dancers may wear a wrapped skirt without a shirt; they wear beaded straps that cross over the chest.

 

Information taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Rwanda