First Ingoma Nshya Festival - May 2023 [Gira Ingoma One Drum Per Girl, Rwanda]

Ingoma Nshya and Women Cultural Centre organised the first Ingoma Nshya festival, gathering over 250 girls ages 3 to 20 from ten schools in the district of Huye, Rwanda. These girls are part of the project Gira Ingoma and are following families, workshops every weekend with the women drummers of Ingoma Nshya. The festival allowed them to showcase what they have learned so far and to meet pupils from the other schools to perform all together. They performed in front of their teachers, school directors, families, and district officials. The festival took place on May 6, 2023, at the stadium of the National University of Rwanda in Huye. The festival allowed the girls to present their work to district officials. Traditionally, drumming was forbidden to women in Rwanda and the Intore dance (the warrior dance) was reserved to men. By learning and performing these art forms, the women of Ingoma Nshya and the girls are redefining the place of women in society and showing that they can do everything. The district officials' response was very positive, they encouraged them to pursue and develop their learning and to find their own way of performing these practices. The festival also allowed parents to see their children perform and encouraged intergenerational conversation.