ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM IN RWANDA
An overview of Rwanda's ethnographic museums
I can't think of anything more fascinating and wonderful in life than going to the Rwandan ethnographic museum. Founded in 1873, this museum was later destroyed during World War 11. In 1970, the survivors were placed in a permanent residence. More than half a million visitors from all around the world visit this museum. Inzu ndangamurage in Kinyarwanda is another name for the Rwandan ethnographic museum. In comparison to other museums in Rwanda, it is now the largest. It is around 35 kilometers from Kigali's downtown in Butare.
The ethnographic museum provides a wealth of historical information about Rwanda, customs, and culture that draws visitors and generates a lot of revenue, which in turn makes the visitors happy and eager to return for more.
King Baudouin I of Belgium acknowledged the ethnographic museum in 1988 and presented it to Rwanda as a gift. The museum and traditional craft training facility are situated on 20 hectares of ground covered with native flora. Additionally, it has 25,000 square meters of ground and has several chambers, each of which depicts a human being from the earliest times to the present. Numerous English-language books, novels, and pamphlets are available for purchase at the museum. These books will help you learn more about Rwanda and its museums when you purchase them.
The ethnographic museum has more than seven rooms, the first of which is a galaxy for temporary exhibitions with several shelves filled with indigenous handicrafts for sale. The geographical history, ecology, and population expansion of Rwanda are depicted in the second chamber. The occupations of Rwandans, including as farming, hunting, and animal husbandry, are displayed in the third chamber. The fourth chamber displays handicrafts and the various traditional products that Rwandans manufacture in their homes, including leather goods, mats, baskets, and ceramics. The architecture is displayed in the fifth chamber, traditional sports and activities are displayed in the sixth, and traditional recitation.
Functions of the ethnographic museum
Before we can understand a museum's activities, we must first understand what a museum is. As a result, a museum is characterized as a repository for our ancestors' antiques. The museum's missions included conducting research, protecting, elaborating on cultural and religious items, conserving, showcasing, and contextualizing items related to ethnography, as well as serving as a resource for schoolchildren interested in conducting research, particularly those studying history, geography, and art concurrently. Some of the former employees of this museum collected and arranged all of the ancient artifacts, including spears, bones, skulls, and horns, to name a few.
. In addition, they used to create own exhibitions, perform traditional dances, and narrate stories to the guests. Because it served as entertainment for them, all of these used to make the guests extremely happy and enjoy themselves, which is why they kept returning.
History of the ethnographic museum.
Ethnographic museums are now divided into two categories, both of which having to do with the history of early collections and the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Dialogic museums are another name for ethnographic museums. It forgets how the items found their place within the museum's empty walls and instead engages in conversation with the people from whom they originated. It is believed that these museums collaborate with the community in all facets of their operations.
The origins of the ethnographic museum are thought to be buried deep within the history of world expansion. The 16th and 17th centuries saw the opening of global growth in Europe. The plants and animals, minerals and fossils, and the native people and cultures were among the items discovered there. Private cabinets of curiosities (wunderkammern) containing representative samples of novel materials imported to Europe from abroad were formed as a result of the naves' desire to amass and gain prestige for economic supremacy and other reasons.
During the 18th century, Peter the Great, the ruler of Russia, gathered numerous collections to construct the Kunstkammer, the first official museum to be opened in St. Petersburg (History of the First Russian Museum). This started off as natural history artifacts. Then, using the native specimens, a distinct ethnographic collection was established. During the 1800s.
All things considered, we must understand the ethnographic museum's profound significance in relation to human cultural behavior and intangible heritage. Numerous elements have been combined to create a comprehensive, well-structured, and easily comprehensible museum. Though it might appear differently, the object is not the ethnographic museum's main focus. The museum's walls also preserve, enhance, and bring together the cultures of the indigenous people who created the items.