The field of Gishora is located approximately 7 km north of the city of

Gitega Gitega (), formerly Kitega, is the political capital of Burundi. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly east of Bujumbura (the largest city and former political capital), Gitega (the second largest city) ...

, in the

Gitega Province Gitega is one of the 18 provinces of Burundi. Its capital is Gitega, which is also the national capital. It has a population of 725,223 as of 2008 and an area of . History After Burundi attained full independence on 1 July 1962, there was a mil ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

. It houses a royal palace and royal field.La résidence royale du Burundi : Le cas de Gishora - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Site Description

Gishora is on the top of the Gishora Hill in the commune of Giheta, 7 km from the town of

. In the residence of Gishora, the first court or forecourt, called Intangaro, shelters the sanctuary of the sacred drums. The second largest, which is the royal court, includes the royal residence (Ingoro). With time, this court was generally occupied by the chiefs and the backyard (ikigo) includes the dwelling of the maidservants, the room of worship (indaro ya Rugabo) and other structures. This court was only reserved for the royal family. Before one has to reach the residence, there was a public reception place called Inama.

History

The royal field of Gishora was founded by the

Mwami ''Mwami'' () is an honorific title common in parts of Central and East Africa. The title means ''chief'' or ''tribal chief'' in several Bantu languages. It was historically used by kings in several African nations, and is still used for traditi ...

(or

King of Burundi This article contains two versions of the list of kings of Burundi, the traditional version before 1680 and the modern genealogy. The Kingdom of Burundi was ruled by sovereigns, titled ''mwami'' (plural ''abami''), whose regnal names followed a ...

) Ntare Rugamba in the first half of the 19th century after its victory against the

Chief Ntibirangwa Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

rebels.

World Heritage Status

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on May 9, 2007 in the Cultural category.

Notes

References

La résidence royale du Burundi : Le cas de Gishora - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Accessed 2009-02-24. Burundian monarchy Geography of Burundi Gitega
Gishora Drum Sanctuary