About the cultural group
Captivating audiences of all ages! They have performed at universities, festivals, churches, schools, weddings and parties.
They have come through the suffering of the Rwanda Genocide to become grassroots ambassadors for progress, freedom and hope . They are dedicated to raise international awareness of its unique traditional dance, song and instruments (Inanga, Umuduli, Ingoma, Icyembe and Amakondera).
Vincent Nsengiyumva and the Komezinaganzo troupe present extraordinary, high energy performances of the contemporary Afro-beat and traditional Pygmy, Souks, Reggae, rhythms, song, drum and dance – celebrating the beauty of their country and return of refugees while holding children up as the hope for humanity and a better world
What we do
Inanga (Traditional guitar)
Inanga is known as a “trough-zither”, which gives an indication of a shape of the instrument, namely a flat soundboard(resonator) with slightly concave sides reminiscent of the shape of a trough or laft. It varies from 75to 155 cm in length and 25to 30 cm in width. The soundboard it self is slightly smaller as there is a rim all around it.
At the narrow ends, the rim is much wider and has eight to twelve string deep notches cut into each end to hold the strings in place.
One striking feature is that not all the notches have a string,so that the number of the strings is always smaller than the number of notches. The Inanga is usually played solo and performer sings his own songs about historical events,personal experiences and more.
Ingoma (Rwanda traditional Drums)
The name “INGOMA” Derives from african language meaning: “Drum” and “Kingdom”. Drumming is a part of the African lifestyle. It is their way to announce important events and more.
Percussion has influenced the tones and rhythm of Latin, Brazilian, samba music and more…
Intore (Men's Dance)
Rwanda is an African nation with a long history of folk music and dances. Intore (dance troupe) is the finest model of Rwanda’s varied and dynamic traditional music and dance styles.
The Intore “Dance of Heroes” is Performed by Men wearing grass wigs and carrying spears. The dancers move from side to other side,combining grace and complex choreography with raw aggression.
The performance of the Intore therefore has always consisted of warriors dancing together.
Umuduli
The umuduli is a single-string traditional instrument.
Dance Intwatwa - Umushagiriro
UMUSHAGIRIRO/Umushayayo, the dance of women, which cerebrated the movement of various animals that grace the country, from elephants and gazelles to the traditionally most revered, the cow.
UKURAMBAGIZA, a dance involving males and females at what can best be described as courtship; impressive by definition, the dancers call this “the dance of fiancés”.
The Royal Drummers, thirteen in number, is the traditional symbol of royal power; these drums where used to both announce the presence of the King and communicate with his subjects and allies.
This plan has been thought about after realizing that among our fellow artists there are brilliant talents as far as the culture is concern. And this is could not interfere their activities as artists. It is really a shame to consider cultural affairs as things left to uneducated people while it should be our responsibilities as intellectuals in the culture of this country (Rwanda).