Intore, sometimes called the Dance of Heroes, is a traditional dance performed by men in Rwanda and Burundi; women are not allowed to do so.
01 · What it is
Dance
Live movement, rhythm, costume, or staged dramatic performance passed between generations.
02 · Where & name
Burundi
Placed on record in Burundi.
03 · How it is doing
□□□□ (Not yet assessed)
Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
04 · Proof & reuse
2 cited sources
Every claim links to a public record below. Free to quote, teach, and share under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chapter Takeaways
Recognition as an Intangible HeritageAs of December 2, 2024, the Intore dance was inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage during the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage,…
Common Questions Answered on Record
What is Intore in plain words?
Intore, sometimes called the Dance of Heroes, is a traditional dance performed by men in Rwanda and Burundi; women are not allowed to do so.
Where is Intore practised or documented?
Sources on this page place Intore in Burundi.
What is the current condition of Intore today?
□□□□ (Not yet assessed): Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
How do I cite or share this Intore entry?
Cite as: "Intore." folkroom, https://folkroom.org/art-forms/intore, text CC BY-SA, with attribution.
Intore, sometimes called the Dance of Heroes, is a traditional dance performed by men in Rwanda and Burundi; women are not allowed to do so. Intore came to Rwanda in the 1830s when the royal Muyange fled fighting in neighbouring Burundi Kingdom and was granted asylum by the King of Rwanda.
In pre-colonial times, intore was a war dance performed by the Tutsi military. Dance numbers were often war-themed, and the performing men carried actual weapons. Present-day intore dancers do not carry actual weapons, but instead use replicas. It is now performed at various celebrations and public ceremonies, including family gatherings and national events. The dance is accompanied by drum ensemble (from seven to nine drums), providing strong, almost hypnotic set of rhythms. Melodic interludes are provided by the lulunga, a harp-like instrument with eight strings.
Potential dancers are chosen based on physical and moral attributes. Before they can perform, the intore dancers receive training, where they learn the steps of the dance as well as moral values. 1
Recognition as an Intangible Heritage
As of December 2, 2024, the Intore dance was inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage during the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, held in Paraguay. [1] 1
The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Intore”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. 1
Intore is traditional Rwandan dance performed by a troupe, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. 2
The source record links this tradition to 2 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. 2
