At the beginning of December 2024, the dance of the Intore, the ancient warriors of the Land of a Thousand Hills, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This war dance is the pride of the members of the National Ballet of Rwanda, guardians of the country?s cultural heritage, but it could also serve other more nationalistic interests.

Rwanda. Intore dancer wearing a mane symbolising a feline. Muhirehussein.
Rwanda. Intore dancer wearing a mane symbolising a feline. © Muhirehussein.


After the drums of Burundi, Congolese Rumba, henna and fabric kente or the Ghanaian Ngondo in Cameroon, fourteen African goods and rituals entered the Unesco lists of intangible heritage in 2024. The Intore dance from Rwanda is the latest living African treasure to be listed, underlining the importance of this art form as a symbol of Rwandan culture on the world stage.
In pre-colonial Rwanda, the Intore were elite young fighters from the Tutsi nobility selected by the mwami, the king, for their physical aptitudes and martial skills. In Kinyarwanda, intore means "chosen" or "selected". At the turn of the 20th century, "The practices in which these young men engaged - war dances (guhamiliza), archery (kurasa), spear-throwing (gutera icumu), wrestling (gukirana), recitation of pastoral and epic poems (kwinikaza, guhiga) - prepared them to replace their "fathers" in the political and military exercise of power in the Nyiginya kingdom. The court, the political chiefs and the lineage chiefs thus contributed to the construction of the kingdom?s warrior complex. (1)

Pillars of Rwandan culture

Dressed in leopard-skin loincloths and bare-chested, the Intore dancers carry a spear and a shield. Icyugo Endikuemmy.
Dressed in leopard-skin loincloths and bare-chested, the Intore dancers carry a spear and a shield. © Icyugo Endikuemmy.

The Intore dance celebrates the life, strength, bravery and virility of the warriors of yesteryear. It is performed at all official ceremonies, weddings, festivals and other important events. These dances, which embody an elitist philosophy, are halfway between dance and the art of war, and are performed by numerous troupes throughout Rwanda.
Intore choreographies faithfully reproduce the epic battles of yesteryear. The dancers are trained in institutions called itorero, where they learn cultural values, poetry and the performing arts. They are then selected from across the country to take part in the Intore Festival. ballet nationalcreated in 1973 and directed by Jean-Marie Muyango. It brings together the country's best dancers and takes part in international competitions.

A highly codified art form

Rwanda. Intore dancer in action.
Rwanda. Intore dancer in action. © Commons

Intore dance is a noble art that does not tolerate improvisation. It is so closely linked to national history that it is sacred. The movements and sequences of figures are highly codified.
Lined up like warriors on a battlefield, the dancers advance with spear and shield in hand. They wear pearl ornaments (" Ibitako ") on their shoulders and backs. These symbolise respect and, according to tradition, offer magical protection. Bells around their ankles tinkle as they pound the ground and jump. This sound was once used for tactical intimidation on the battlefield. Wearing a long, feline-inspired blond mane that they toss back and forth, dressed in a cotton loincloth and tunic (in the past, dancers danced bare-chested in a leopard-skin loincloth), their movements are initially slow and jerky, as if gauging an imaginary adversary. With menacing glances and a sneer on their lips, the dancers move from side to side in a complex choreography that combines elegance and raw aggression. At certain points, the dancers stop, arms outstretched, declaiming or shouting war cries. Each movement is executed with masterly precision, in perfect synchronisation with the other performers. Then the battle breaks out, and the dancer-warriors leap with agility, twirling their spears vigorously. They dodge and fight back, supported by songs and poems extolling their exploits, until they overpower their enemy in a final heroic charge.

Social cohesion or indoctrination?

Intore dancers from the National Ballet of Rwanda. Ji Elle.
Intore dancers from the National Ballet of Rwanda ©. Ji Elle.


While the Rwandan authorities are banking on Intore (and football) to bring together the people living in a country scarred by the massacres of some 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus in opposition to the interim government in 1994, the fact remains that certain art could harbour other intentions. As Jules Gahima points out on the jambonews website: "In recent Rwandan parlance, the word Intore means those loyal to the post-genocide regime of leader Paul Kagame. It refers to the conception that Kagame?s political leaders have of the model citizen: the citizen who acclaims the regime, never criticises it, and fights at all costs anyone who does not see things the same way as the regime in power. In terms of its organisation and operation, the current itorero reflects a well-decentralised programme for inculcating the RPF ideology into the population, in a very effective way".. (2)
Admittedly, the current government of Rwanda (the Rwandan Patriotic Front, RPF, whose president is Paul Kagame) has chosen to make an educational and warlike institution that existed before the country was colonised one of the main vectors of national reconstruction, according to the authors of "The politics of itorero in Rwanda (3). More than two million "chosen ones" have been trained in the scheme since 2008. Unesco supports this approach and emphasises the role of Intore in promoting social cohesion. Butera Masamba Intore, artistic director and trainer of the National Ballet of Rwanda, confirms this: "Intore played a decisive unifying role after the genocide of the Tutsis. Dance was a tool for bringing people together, and I wouldn't say for forgetting, but for comforting and associating. Whether you come from a rich, poor or middle class background, whether you're a farmer or a stockbreeder, dance brings everyone together. It is neither a war dance, nor a simple aesthetic performance. Intore embodies nobility, integrity and the values that accompany us throughout our lives.

(1) ref. Vansina J., 2001, Le Rwanda ancien. Le royaume Nyiginya, Paris, Karthala.

(2) https://www.jambonews.net/actualites/20200304-les-intore-du-rwanda-un-endoctrinement-qui-inquiete/

(3) https://shs.cairn.info/revue-tiers-monde-2016-4-page-101?lang=fr

Text : Brigitte Postel
Photos : wiki Commons