File:Ikigo ndangamuco cya Ikirena ni urugendo rutangaje mu mateka.jpg

English: At the main entrance of Ikirenga Cultural Centre, there is an imposing statue of a giant man with a bow and spear. A guide is eager to inform you that the statue is for Ruganzu, who is depicted as a warrior and winner.

Besides it is another statue of a beautiful woman sporting ancient Rwandan hairstyle known as Amasunzu. She’s holding a pot and is looking at Ruganzu.

Gantille Girimpuhwe, a guide at Ikirenga Cultural Centre, said the woman symbolises how resourceful Ruganzu was and remains to Rwandans.

The centre also has a traditional house considered prestigious in the ancient Rwanda and only belonged to the high and mighty.

During Ruganzu’s time, Girimpuhwe said, there were three types of housing, according to social classes.

The first was the king’s house which was large with many rooms, and constructed in expensive materials. The house had amashyoro (two sticks that stuck out like antennas) above the front door.

The centre also has Migongo house, in which tools used in sacred ceremonies and other traditional tools are kept.

Three ‘religious’ ceremonies were observed in traditional Rwanda. They are Kubandwa, which our guide equated to the current baptism in Christian faith. During this ceremony, traditional tools such as inanga (a string musical instrument or harp) and small pots were used.

The other is Guterekera, which can be compared to imploring saints that’s mainly done by Catholic believers today. In this ceremony, members of a family would gather around a fire, carrying banana and honey beer to beseech ancestors for help.

Sometimes, Girimpuhwe said, the family would receive a message from their ancestors conveyed in different ways.

The third ceremony was Kuraguza, or seeking future predictions. This would be presided over by sorcerers who used tools like horns and inzuzi (magical seeds), among others, to tell people what’s going on and what the future held for them.

Migongo house is also characterised by some decorations were common in traditional Rwanda and neighbouring kingdoms like Karagwe (now in Tanzania).

All these tools had been acquired from neighbouring populations and the Catholic Church, Girimpuhwe said.