Games and Recreation in Rwanda

Traditional sports in Rwanda are a form of celebration. A friendly competition between community members during feasts, and holidays or a way to honor visiting dignitaries. Participants would practice wrestling, high jumping, archery and shoot at a moving target.   

Young Rwandans have invented many games, with each gender and age group having their own specific games. Young boys mainly concentrate on high jumping, archery, shooting at a moving target or hunting birds among others.

Girls typically would play with dolls.  They would alo play with strings, and other games which include catching little stones thrown up in the air without letting them fall (gusamata),  and run after pigeons (agatara k’inuma) and many more.

Itorero, a precolonial Rwanda military academy, was initiated at the start of the 14th Century. Chosen young boys were trained in different sports and practices: archery, target shooting, throwing a spear and throwing a sword stick on moving targets among other activities.

While women focused on domestic jobs, men spent their free time on games like board games (igisoro), high jump, archery, stick fighting (kunyabanwa), wrestling (gukirana), running races, and hunting. The dance of the hoe was also practiced by imparamba groups in southern Rwanda.

In the past, most sports attracted visitors in Rwanda but it was the high jump (gusimbuka urukiramende) that fascinated spectators the most. With a horizontal body in the air, a well-trained athlete could, after a running start, jump over the bar placed above 2 meters high during competitions.

After the arrival of modern cars, children from the rural places started making toys from wires including cars. They were imitating the cars they saw or imagining their dream cars. These types of toys are still played with by little children.

Modern sports in Rwanda emerged in early 20th century. Popular sports are football, cycling, volleyball, basketball, tennis, athleticism & martial arts, which gradually gained exposure to international arenas. Today, efforts are made to put in place outstanding infrastructures.