BUJUMBURA June 78th (ABP) – The cultural club “Amagaba” officially launched on Monday June 7, 2021, in Bujumbura, the festival called “Umukozo” (mixture), under the theme “Akaranga kanje n’iteka ryanje” (My culture, my honor), which will take place on July 4, 2021 at the Bujumbura sports agreement, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
In his opening remarks for the ceremonies, the cultural advisor in the Ministry of the East African Community, Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr. Rénovat Ndihokubwayo, therefore encouraged the said club to have organized that festival, and to move forward in its works which aim to accompany Burundi to promote the culture of our ancestors.
According to Mr. Claude Niyuhire, the leader of the Umukozo festival, the word “Umukozo” comes from the verb “Gukoza” (to mix).
Here, he explained that this festival will be mixed with different things, specifying that the goal is to make known that Burundi cannot self-develop without the presence of culture.
He further pointed out that the idea to organize the Umukozo festival by the cultural club “Amagaba” in the company of other cultural clubs like Abagumyabanga, Ihunja, Intatana, and Gishora, arose from the fact that the cultural group Amagaba did not want to work solo in the promotion of Burundian culture.
Moreover, Mr. Niyuhire continued to say that the advantage of that festival is that it makes all Burundians love Burundian culture.
According to Father Adrien Ntabona, who was a guest in those ceremonies, a country cannot develop normally without having a culture. For a farmer to have sufficient production, he/she must fertilize his/her field by putting chemical fertilizers in the field”.
He took that opportunity to call on everyone to revitalize the basic culture which allows the people to properly bring up their children through traditional dances, theaters…, and to recognize that our country is among other developing countries. He added that to remedy the situation, there must be a combination of our mores and culture, affirming that this will restore the image of Burundi at the international level.
It is worth recalling that this festival will be the first edition and will continue even in the years to come, the festival leader reassured.