Tutsi Basket

History

The Tutsi people of Rwanda are renowned for the beautiful intricate woven baskets known as Tutsi Baskets. The delicate tiny weave of these baskets is completely incredible. Such skill required to create this basketry work of art. Among the Tutsi elite, basketry-related tasks were gender-specific. Men were responsible for building dwellings, granaries, fences, and other large-scale fiber-based structures. Women created more refined woven artifacts, such as the floor mats, baskets, and wall panels. The skill of weaving such a delicate tight weave tiny baskets is a skill passed down from grandmother to mother and mother to daughter. Basketry weaving was a communal activity that occurred during recreational evening gatherings. Accompanied by the sound of music performed by a Tutsi harpist, women dedicated their time to embroidery and bead-making as well as basketry. Decorative architectural elements such as woven basketry “tapestries,” space dividers, and mats were created on such occasions. They filled Tutsi domestic interiors, covering them from floor to ceiling and creating a visually vibrant arrangement of contrasting black-and-white patterns. Finely woven miniature baskets featured similar variations of decorative patterns alternating black and red dye with the natural gold fiber. Such intimate-sized baskets were made primarily to be offered as gifts and had no common usage besides the storage of precious objects such as the pipe of the master of the house, beads, or amulets.