Tutsi Tight Weave Flat Basket Rwanda

Flat baskets/lids such as this are among the most exquisite artworks made by the Tutsi women. The Tutsi (Watutsi or Watusi) people live mainly in Rwanda and Burundi along side with the Hutu and the Twa with whom they share similar cultures and speak the same language, the Kinyaruanda. The Tutsi excel in producing these beautiful miniature lidded baskets, which become symbols of the Tutsi culture. These baskets called Agaseki were made from vegetal fibers of sisal and papyrus trees (Nigwegwe). The grasses of these trees were soaked in the water for almost two weeks to make them soft. Then they were beaten with stones and dried. Earlier examples like this were made of the natural pale gold color of the fibers decorated with the patterns in black which came from boiling the root and seeds of the Urukamgi plant or the banana flowers. Recent examples incorporate imported dyes including red, green, orange, and mauves. The range of the patterns is unlimited and shows the creativity of women