It wasn't the clearest day
but we thought we'd try to go see the Volcanoes….
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| We only got this one glimpse before the clouds totally enveloped them. |
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| But on we went to the people!! |
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| The "lumberjacks" invited us to come closer to watch! |
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| And they let us try our hand at sawing a straight line with a LONG blade! Go Chris!! |
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| This is quite an art! |
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| The school kids saw us out in the field and came to join us. |
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| This is the place where they have the baby gorilla naming ceremony each year. Bruce got an invitation to go this year but I don't think he can make it. |
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| This was the first time to see a wheat field here--growing basically in volcanic rock. |
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| Ah, one more "peak" at Mt. Sabyania. |
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| And at Carrie and Chris. The next thing we did was to do back to see the village dancers that we had met when the Schelingers were here. We found them and they seemed happy to see us! |
Especially the kids! Love these faces!!!
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| The two girls meet. |
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| Looking at pictures together. |
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| So tiny! |
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| Sleeping beauties! |
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| Let the dancing begin….. Once again all the villagers came… only in a new pavilion…to dance and dance for us. These are Batwa…. pronounced "Ba--twah". Below a little bit about them. |
Indigenous peoples in Rwanda
The indigenous Batwa population of Rwanda is known by various names: indigenous Rwandans, ancient hunter-gatherers, Batwa, Pygmies, Potters, or the “historically marginalized population”. The Batwa live throughout the country and number between 33,000 and 35,000 people out of a total population of around 11,000,000, i.e. 0.3% of the population. They have a distinct culture, often associated with their folkloric and traditional dance and the intonation of their specific language.
And dance they did!!
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| A reed instrument.. handmade, of course! |
Wish you could hear the sounds and
feel the ground move under your feet.
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| The littlest dancer and she was so GOOD! |
The Papas……
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| and the Mamas! |
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| and the Babies! |
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| No matter how the Mamas danced… the babies just bounced behind on the Mama's backs! |
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| Their dancing just emitted joy! |
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| Carrie couldn't contain herself…. She finally "jumped" in. |
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| Sleigh bell like bells dancing out the rhythms from the ankles of the men, everyone clapping along and feet pounding on the floor! |
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| These are the lead three dancers! They asked me to take their picture and get them a copy. I will do my best. They gave us such a great show!!! What a great village of Batwa! |
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| Yes, that is a hydrangea and it is bigger than most people's heads! Love this picture of you Chris! This is at a hotel near the Batwa. |
A beautiful day of Volcanoes, People from all walks and dances
of life and fantastic Flowers!
This was a day rich in God's mountains of nature,
native people and their culture and
the flora and fauna of Northern Rwanda.
The most memorable?
The people of Rwanda!
As always!
love,
margie
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