Urunyege (sing. inyege)

The urunyege is a rattle consisting of a 35 cm long stick onto which several dried, hollowed-out inyege fruit pods are threaded. There are two types of urunyege:

the first is an instrument comprising a simple stick 30-35 cm in length, on which two to five inyege are mounted. This is used within the imandwa cult.
the second consists of a forked branch 35-70 cm in length with two or three side branches, onto which three or four fruit pods are usually threaded. To make it sturdier, the top of the rattle is bound with strips of leaves from which a few amayugi bells are sometimes hung. This forked version is also found in Burundi, and here too plant fibres are used as binders.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) both types have been found among the Shi; the first type is called mujegereza, the second lunyege.

For more information consult the following publications edited by the RMCA:

GANSEMANS, J. Les instruments de musique du Rwanda. Étude ethnomusicologique, Annales RMCA n° 127, 361 pp. + 102 photos
Compact Disc :
- Rujindiri, maître de l’inanga (fmd 186)
- RWANDA : Polyphonie des Twa (fmd 196)
- Musiques du Rwanda (fmd 206)