Cultural heritage body to unveil sounds, songs recorded during colonial period

Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy (RCHA) is set to unveil some of the sounds and songs of Rwandans recorded during the Belgian colonial period, on Saturday, October 29. This will be done in line with the celebration of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. The day is celebrated every October 27 and was chosen by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2005 to raise awareness on the significance and preservation risks of recorded sound and audiovisual documents, which include films, sound and video recordings, radio and television programmes. The sounds and songs, which will be played on national television, RBA, during a cultural programme ‘Umurage’ as a teaser, are part of the 4,000 audiovisual documents that RCHA received from the Belgian envoy to Rwanda, Bert Versmessen, under a Belgian project dubbed ‘SHARE’ in October 2021. The audiovisual documents were recorded from the early 1950s up until the 2000s, and are accompanied with a detailed inventory highlighting titles of sounds and songs, specifying the place of recording and the ritual function of these documents. The National Archives Acting Director, Marie Claude Uwineza, told The New Times that some of the songs in the archives are known by some Rwandans- although they may be sung differently, but a good number of them have never been heard of, at least after the 1980s. “The archives are proof that Rwanda is invested in the repatriation of its heritage that is scattered across different countries because of our history. Listening to these sounds, which contain the culture of Rwandans, will help different people learn more about it,” Uwineza said. She added that they are planning to officially unveil all sounds for the public to access. Upon reception of these documents last year, Robert Masozera, the Director General of RCHA, said that they belong to all Rwandans and that the songs delivered will be shared on all social media platforms to help Rwandans all over the world access them. “This part of Rwandan Heritage will be archived and accessible to the public at the Ethnographic Museum of Huye District. From there, we will post them on all social media platforms so that even Rwandans outside the country can access them,” he said. He also noted that these sounds will also benefit both history and music students, who will be able to learn practically what they see and understand more about ancient Rwanda. These audiovisual documents were conserved by the Royal Museum of Central Africa, and are only part of archives that the Rwandan government has made official requests for repatriation to different countries- including Belgium.

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Cultural heritage body to unveil sounds, songs recorded during colonial period