Kwita Izina- Rwanda (Gorilla baby naming ceremony) 29thMay- 5th June 2010
The Banyarwanda have for centuries had the tradition of holding a feast to welcome a newly born baby into the community, Kwita Izina Ceremony which literally means “to give a name” was adopted by ORTPN (Rwanda Tourism and National Parks Office) to help in promoting awareness about the conservation of the endangered Species of Mountain Gorillas, and this saw the first event launched, officially in 2005 by the President Kagame, naming the first known mountain twin baby gorillas ever to survive. It has gone on to become a top annual event held in June at the foothills of Virunga mountains to name baby gorillas born in their habitat for the past 1 year and has increasingly become an attraction to tourists, environmentalists and even prominent world celebrities who get to enjoy a week loaded with activities that range from cultural dances, cycle race to a trip across the country’s beautiful scenery. The World Environmental Day of this year that will be commemorated in Rwanda on the 5th June and see visitors coming from all over the world has been slated to coincide with the naming ceremony this year at Kinigi has seen at least 12 baby gorillas identified for the climax of the celebration on the final day of the festivities.
This year’s ceremony will be kicked off with Community work (Umganda) as from the 29th May, followed by Kwita Izina National Cycling Tour in the 2nd event(30thMay-1st June) aimed at sensitizing the community on environmental conservation with a public campaign for environment management followed by an exhibition of environment friendly products. The 3rd event(2nd June) will be the linking of Kwita Izina to the 2010 FIFA world cup in South Africa, with a Football match organized for the day. There will be on day 4(3rd of June) an Environment and Conservation Conference, where Rwanda’s willingness and efforts to manage the environment and conserve Gorillas will be demonstrated.
Day 5 (4th june) will see RDB (Rwanda Development Board)commissioning community projects set up by proceeds from last years ceremony, that include schools, hospitals & income generating activities taken up by self confessed former poachers(of gorillas) - Citizens will be joined by dignitaries in a tree planting ceremony and launch of new projects around Volcanoes National Park. The climax of the day will be Cultural extravaganza of the “Intore Dance” & “Ikinimba” in celebration of the new born baby gorillas.
Day 6- The actual day of the naming ceremony, and since it coincides with when Rwanda will for the first time host World Environmental Day, the events have given rise to the theme “Raising global awareness of biodiversity conservation as we give names to our baby gorillas”. This year’s event will also be graced by guests from the International community and Regional leadership, the private sector, local community, renowned conservationists and the Rwandan leadership. It’s an occasion well worth planning for in the future if you can’t make it this time around.
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