Kwita Izina 2025
What transpired at the Rwanda gorilla naming ceremony – Gorill naming, Gorilla trekking – Rwanda – Kwita Izina
Kwita Izina 2022. Kwita Izina is a gorilla naming ceremony held in Rwandan once every year, hosted in the Kinigi, Musanze District, in the Northern Province of Rwanda. The ceremony has been held in its current incarnation since 2005, derived from the centuries-old Rwandan tradition of naming one’s children in the presence of family and friends.
For each ceremony held every year, a line of prominent individuals from across the world are given invitations to give names to new born baby gorillas at every year’s Kwita Izina ceremony. For this year, the gorilla naming ceremony took place on 2nd of September 2022. The list of prominent people invited for the gorilla naming ceremony was topped by Prince Charles, Duke of Wales. Other prominent people on the list included Didier Drogba, former Chelsea striker, Louise Mushikiwabo the Secretary General of Organization Internationale de la Francophonie, Kaddu Sebunya, CEO of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Kenyan music band Sauti Sol, Gilberto Silva, former Arsenal midfielder, and Salma Rhadia Mukansanga, Rwandan International Football Referee among many other prominent individuals.
The ceremony is inspired and modelled off an old tradition from many centuries ago in which Rwandans gave their new born children names in a celebration graced by friends and family. The population of the remaining mountain gorillas in the world is only slightly above 1000. Therefore, the birth of any new baby gorilla comes with lots of excitement as it promises a better future for the conservation of these gentle giants. Over the last 17 years, 354 mountain gorillas have been given names in this Rwanda gorilla naming ceremony called Kwita Izina.
The event is first intended at adding a higher value to these mountain gorillas in the eyes of Humans by giving these gentle giants names the general public can relate with to further gorilla conservation initiatives. Second, the event is also an opportunity to thank the communities that live around Volcanoes National Park, research partners, veterinarians, conservationists, rangers, trackers and the general public that with great effort protect these mountain gorillas.
Mountain gorillas remain a critically endangered species, and despite efforts to protect them, they are still hunted down for their meat or just to be turned into trophies. The Africa Wildlife Foundation (AWF), estimates that only about 1,000 of these great apes remain in the wild globally.
Mountain gorillas are one of two subspecies of the eastern gorilla and one of the world’s largest living primates. They have muscular arms, a massive chest, and broad hands and feet and they have longer hair and shorter arms than their lowland cousins.
In the whole of Africa, these gentle giants can only be trekked in Uganda, Rwanda and the democratic republic of Congo.
Many conservation efforts have been started in recent years intended at protecting the mountain gorillas and as well increase their number. Rwanda intends to play a pivotal role in creating a very safe space for mountain gorillas and that’s the spirit from which the gorilla naming ceremony Kwita Izina comes from.
Contact us with any inquiries about attending the next gorilla naming ceremony or trekking mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
