English SME & SSE

2. Write a paragraph explaining the role of National Museums in preserving cultural heritage. You can look at the notes on paragraph writing in unit 5 of this book.

Text: Importance of preserving cultural heritage

Before the colonial era, Rwanda was, unquestionably, a nation-state with a people sharing the same religious beliefs, the same traditions, same customs, speaking the same language, Kinyarwanda, in short, having a same culture. To consolidate their power, colonizers and missionaries have, from the outset, sought to blot out the identity and collective memory of Rwandans. Thus, many traditional cultural practices were described as wild and pagan, and in some places trees and sacred places were destroyed.

The Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda of 4 June 2003, as amended to date, reaffirms Government’s commitment to protecting sound traditional and cultural practices based on Rwandan philosophy and culture in general.

The Constitution stipulates that Government has the obligation to ensure preservation of its cultural heritage, memorials and sites of genocide. Some may think traditions are archaic and no longer relevant, and that they are unnecessary during these modern times. Perhaps for some, they aren’t; but for others, exploring cultural heritage offers a robust variety of benefits.

Cultural heritage gives people a connection to certain social values, beliefs, religions and customs. It allows them to identify with others of similar mind- sets and backgrounds. Cultural heritage can provide an automatic sense of unity and belonging within a group and allows us to better understand previous generations and the history of where we come from.

 Another benefit that comes from preserving cultural heritage as a whole is the communal support. People who identify strongly with a certain heritage are often more likely to help out others in that same community.

In addition to communal support cultural heritage helps us in the process of  finding and incorporating culture into our lives, if we wish to do so. It begins with understanding the culture.

Only then may we begin to value it. From there, we can learn to care for a culture and eventually enjoy it. If cultural heritage sites are preserved people

who visit them will want to learn and understand the culture more with more enjoyment. Along with incorporating culture into our lives, cultural heritage through cultural heritage sites improve tourism industry. 

Tourism no doubt brings with it tremendous economic value for a country. It touches and impacts several industries directly and many more indirectly. Tourism industry goes beyond attractive destinations, to being an important economic growth contributor. 

On top of tourism, cultural heritage sites are one of the important sources of employment. Many people get jobs in cultural heritage site. In Rwanda, these sites have many employees among whom women who wave baskets and others who do cow dung paintings. So, let cultural heritage be preserved for they contribute to our welfare and to the economic development of the country.

Comprehension questions

1. Describe how the pre-colonial Rwanda was as far as culture is concerned.

2. What did colonizers and missionaries do to consolidate their power?

3. Explain what Rwandan Government did to protect cultural practices.

4. State three importance of preserving cultural heritage mentioned in the passage.

5. Explain how cultural heritage can improve tourism.

Text: Traditional school of culture: Itorero

Itorero is one of Rwanda’s Home Grown Solutions in the governance cluster and is regarded mainly as a cultural-centred programme. It is a holistic training system that includes civic education exercises, cultural values, patriotism and social political development of Rwandans. 

Itorero was initiated during the reign of King Ruganzu I Bwimba at around 1312 A.D. The traditional Itorero was a cultural school where Rwandans would learn about their language, their history, social relations, sports, dancing, songs, patriotism and national defense. This school was for boys only; girls were trained in traditional weaving school. Itorero was created so that people acquire a good and deep understanding of their culture. The participants were encouraged to critically discuss, explore and analyse Rwandan cultural values. The tradition of Itorero also provided formative training for future leaders.

From 1924 to 1994, Itorero was banned by the colonial rule and further by the post-independence regimes. Itorero lost its significance which resulted in distortions of the Rwandan culture and breakdown of Rwandan social fabric, mutual support and selfless service to the nation. These distortions are indubitably among the main causes of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi which devastated the Rwandan society.

 In the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and in an effort to rebuild the country, Itorero was revived in 2007 under the new political dispensation that values the Home Grown Solutions. In order to achieve the objective of Itorero, the National Itorero Commission (NIC) set the following

goals:

The first goal was to train Rwandans in order to better understand their shared values. These values are supposed to allow them to be good and active citizens who are patriotic and who actively contribute to national development. They also allow them to be Intore (chosen ones) who are worthy Rwandans at all levels of society and to be catalysts for positive change. It is also through these shared values that they acquire the culture of volunteerism in national service.

The second goal was to promote respect for positive cultural values as a basis for coexistence and national development; the third was to collaborate and consult with other public and private institutions and nongovernmental organizations with similar objectives; and the fourth one was to prepare and monitor volunteerism through national service.

The main activities of Itorero include physical activities along with lessons on history of Rwanda in a bid to educate Rwandans on positive cultural valueswhich had been lost during colonization. During Itorero sessions, trainings are adapted and tailored to needs of particular participants. For example, teachers and health workers cover activities related to their profession while local leaders are trained in public service delivery and good governance.

Comprehension questions

1. In not more than three lines, explain what itorero is today.

2. When was Itorero initiated?

3. Could girls attend the traditional Itorero? Explain.

4. Explain why the traditional Itorero was created.

5. What happened to Itorero during colonial and post-independence period?

6. When and why was Itorero revived?

7. State two main activities of today’s Itorero. 

Vocabulary

Use a dictionary and thesaurus to look up the missing meanings of the words

or phrases in the table below. The words are bolded in the above passage

Copy the table into your book and fill in the blank spaces.

Languages play an important role in various means through different cultures interact with each other and with others. This medium of social interact is universal and has been passed on for centuries like a legacy, thus it is imperative that the purity of it is kept within each framework of heritage. In multicultural societies, it is often the dominant language that represents a country in front of others and becomes the means of interaction with minority cultures.

These minority cultures, however, keep their heritage intact and converse with one another through their own language. It is through these minorities that cultures are built, and that’s because of the importance they place on the significance of culture. An example of the role of language in different cultures is how ancient civilizations made up of cavemen and women came to realize that verbal communication was the only way to move forward.

Without language, they were not able to form a good understanding of one another and as civilizations evolved, the need for it gradually increased. Learning an alien language can be a mean feat, and if achieved fully it can be one of the most rewarding experiences, as by learning the language one becomes familiar with the culture. Members of a social group are responsible for constructing the entire framework that goes into making and creating identification for languages, and gradually anthropology becomes an important science that goes hand in hand with linguistics.

The aspects of language that sociolinguistics study can easily make connections between the origins of a nation and their language and speaking habits. There are ethnic minorities that have languages of their own and are considered to be the backbone of a culture, for example, the Aboriginals in Australia.

Cultures determine the means in which people process and cope with information, as they provide the frame of reference as per the concepts and objectives that make a language. Meanings of particular words also depend on the historical relation that is ascribed to the object being described.

 Every language can represent the role of culture through its own reflection of reality it presents. The versions differ as every nation has had to face a different set of problems to arise at their current state. There are different set of values and beliefs attached to each version, and as far as language is concerned, they are all equally important. The role of language and its bearings as per its evolution are highly significant and felt every day in each culture.

Adapted from http://www.mydaily.news/2017/03/role-of-languages-in-culture/

Comprehension questions

1. What is “the medium of social interact” being talked about in the first paragraph?

2. Building on the information provided in the second paragraph, give an example of the role of language in different cultures.

3. What is the importance of learning an alien language according to the writer?

4.Explain how cultures determine the means in which people process and cope with information.

5. Why do you think all Rwandans are said to have almost the same

6. culture while many other countries are said to have different cultures?

2. Write a 300 word composition explaining the role of Kinyarwanda language in preserving Rwandan culture.

6.5. Language structure: Past simple tense and the verb “used to”.

We have already seen past simple in unit 1. In this unit we are going to focus on interrogative a nd negative forms.

6.5.1. Past Simple Interrogative

The past simple of both regular and irregular verbs in its interrogative form has this structure:

Change the following sentences into interrogative form

Example: She opened the window. - Did she open the window?

1. He took a shower.

2. Kamaliza finished her homework yesterday.

3. They visited their grandparents.

4. The girls jumped into the lake.

5. He looked after his younger sister.

6. Isimbi bought new jeans.

7. Murenzi worked the whole night.

8. They were very tired last night.

6.5.2. Past Simple Negative

The past simple of both regular and irregular verbs in its negative form has this structure:

Subject+ Didn’t or did not +verb

Examples:

1. I did not go to the bank. / I didn’t go to the bank.

2. You did not order a new cheque book. /You didn’t order a new chequebook.

The negative form of the verb to be in past simple tense has this structure:

Subject+ were/was+ not + verb

Examples:

1. Our teacher was not sick./ Our teacher wasn’t sick

2. They were not around. / They weren’t around

6.5.2. Application activity:

 negative form

Change the following sentences into negative form

1. They looked at me.

2. My wife became a pilot.

3. Semana finished his homework yesterday.

4. They visited their grandparents.

5. Their children were very happy.

6. The girls jumped into the lake.

7. He looked after his younger sister.

8. Keza brought chewing gums for everyone.

9. Peter slept in the kitchen.

10. They were very excited.