Family and Personal Values
Senior 3 · History and Citizenship
Family and Personal Values
Lesson 2 of 3
25 min
Culture carries values from one generation to the next. Look at the two photographs and ask: what values are being taught, and how?
Analysing the photographs. Neither picture is a lesson in a classroom, yet both teach. Dance teaches discipline, cooperation and pride in one's heritage; songs and poems carry stories of courage and loyalty. In pre-colonial Rwanda, itorero trained young people in these values (Senior 1, Unit 5); today the National Itorero programme, schools and families continue the task.
Definition
Cultural values (indangagaciro): values shared by a people and passed on through its culture.
Taboo (kirazira): a strong cultural prohibition; something a community forbids, often with the belief that breaking it brings shame or misfortune.
Ubupfura: noble character: self-control, politeness, keeping one's word and behaving with dignity.
Ubunyangamugayo: integrity: being honest and trustworthy, especially with what belongs to others.
| Value | Meaning | In daily life |
|---|---|---|
| Ubumwe | Unity | Working with all neighbours in Umuganda, whoever they are |
| Gukunda igihugu | Patriotism, love of one's country | Protecting public property; serving the nation |
| Ubupfura | Noble character, dignity in conduct | Speaking respectfully; keeping promises; self-control when angry |
| Ubunyangamugayo | Integrity, honesty | Refusing a bribe; returning what is not yours |
| Kwihesha agaciro | Self-respect, dignity | Working to meet one's needs rather than begging |
| Umurimo | Love of work | Finishing tasks well, at home and at school |
| Ubutwari | Courage, heroism | Defending someone who is bullied; telling the truth when it is hard |
| Ubwitange | Self-sacrifice, devotion | Volunteering time to help others |
| Ubwubahane | Mutual respect | Greeting elders; listening to views different from your own |
| Gutabarana | Solidarity, coming to each other's aid | Neighbours helping a family after a death or a fire |
Every culture has taboos. In traditional Rwanda, taboos taught children what must never be done. Some protected people and relationships; others reflected the inequalities of their time.
| Kind of taboo | Example | What it protected or reflected |
|---|---|---|
| Respect for parents and elders | Insulting or striking one's parent | Authority and care within the family |
| Family and sexual morality | Sexual relations between close relatives | The family, and the health of children |
| Loyalty | Betraying one's family, community or country; breaking a sworn pact (gutatira igihango) | Trust, on which society depends |
| Rules for women and girls | In the past, many families forbade women to eat goat meat | Inequality between women and men, not a real danger |
Today, families, Itorero and community leaders still use the word kirazira for conduct that is never acceptable, for example corruption, divisionism and genocide ideology, and violence against children and women. Many of these are also crimes under Rwandan law.
Worked example: evaluating a taboo
Question: Should the taboo against insulting one's parents be kept today, and should the old taboo on women eating goat meat? Give reasons. (4 marks)
Keep the first: it protects respect and care in the family, and it agrees with today's values and with religious teaching to honour parents. (2 marks)
Reject the second: it had no health reason, it treated women as lesser, and it conflicts with the equality of women and men guaranteed by the Constitution. (2 marks)
The test: does the taboo protect people and relationships, or does it limit people's rights without good reason?
Warning
Culture is not frozen. Do not write that all traditional practices were good, or all were bad. A strong answer weighs each value or taboo against human dignity, equality and the law, and keeps what serves people today.
Choose one value from the table that you think young Rwandans practise well, and one they find hard today. Why?
Tip
Learn the values in Kinyarwanda and English. Exam questions may use either. Pair each with one example from daily life: "ubunyangamugayo, integrity: refusing a bribe".
Practice
Sources and credits
