First Draft:
East African Agaseke basket
Cultural artifacts are objects that are used for a significant purpose, either to gain a spiritual connection, celebrate someone, or personal/economic gain. These objects can seem odd or ordinary to others, but play a big role in other cultures. A cultural artifact that is important to me is, agaseke or igiseke basket. To me, agaseke basket is a symbol of home because of my childhood and how I’ve always seen it as an important display in my home. Agaseke baskets are used to hold dry foods such as cassava flour (fufu), dry fish, raw meat, eggplant, etc. These goods would be gifted to a family member, close friend, and significant other in celebration to them.
The agaseke basket top is shaped like a cone and the bottom is shaped like an upward oval with white as the base color and blue going around the basket-like a zig-zag. The materials used to make these baskets are sisal plants or papyrus trees. The material feels very similar to wheat baskets which have a rough feel to the pattern of the basket. Many of these baskets are handcrafted by women to show the meaning of peace and blessings. If I were to show others my agaseke basket, they would seem fascinated by the design and intrigued to know how it was made. The agaseke basket is connected to my family because it is a part of our native home, even if we aren’t physically there we are able to have something like the basket to remind us of it. The agaseke basket has been passed down for generations and will continue to be with our family as a symbol of our heritage. In Kirundi, agaseke basket is described as kugemura which is a basket with plenty of food or “bring food”. Many people look forward to being gifted toys, money, games, and clothes. While in my culture (Burundi), we gift people large amounts of food either be alive, dry, or raw it shows signs of respect, love, and blessing.
Final Draft:
The East African Agaseke Basket
Cultural artifacts are objects that are used for significant purposes, either to gain spiritual connections, celebrate someone, or personal/economic gain. These objects can seem odd or unordinary to others, but play a big role in other cultures. A cultural artifact that is important to me is, the agaseke or uduseke basket. To me, agaseke basket is a symbol of home because of my childhood and how I’ve always seen it as an important display in my home. This importance allows me to recognize the artifact in different places giving me a sense of comfort, trust, and feeling “at home”. The agaseke basket comes in one while the uduseke basket comes in packs of five with different or similar colors and different sizes very similar to the Russian Matryoshka doll. The agaseke baskets are commonly used to hold dry foods such as cassava flour (fufu), dry fish, raw meat, vegetables, etc. These goods would be gifted to a family member, close friend, and significant other in celebration to them.
The agaseke baskets are very popular in East African countries but aren’t shied in other parts of Africa. Originally the Agaseke basket is commonly considered a traditional Rwandese woven basket breaking down the meaning aga (singularity) and seke (the object). This artifact can surprisingly be seen globally as a necessity in other people’s households, considering the historical event of enslavement that people in all parts of Africa have faced. This tragic change forced many people to eventually be distant from their native culture and forced to adjust to a new one, this pressure didn’t completely change the fundamental traditions, rituals, and identity that the slaves held but allowed them to pass on their heritage even after gaining their freedom.
Many of these baskets are weaved by women to symbolize peace, blessings, and feminine power. These baskets are sometimes used as an object to dance with, for example, women would have the basket balancing on top of their head while performing a traditional dance (depending on which tribe they belonged to) to greet others, and to show self-confidence and pride. Though the value that the agaseke baskets hold is inspiring it also plays critical importance towards the survival of the people/villagers. Many villagers would weave their baskets and sell them to others to financially provide for themselves or their families.
My mother received her agaseke basket from her mutual family on her wedding day, she receive the agaseke baskets stocked with many goodies in them but had to send them back except for one. Why? Well, because in our culture unless the agaseke basket is gifted to you brand new ideally from your father, mother, or sibling it is only respectable for you to give it back to those who aren’t. Though there aren’t any negative consequences if one doesn’t return the agaseke basket it is still advised that you give it back useless otherwise.
As I’ve grown to familiarize myself with the agaseke basket, my visual description of how my family’s agaseke basket is structured, feels like, and looks like when I hold it is, I notice that the top is shaped like a cone and the bottom is shaped like an upward oval with white as the base color and blue going around the basket-like a zig-zag. The materials used to make these baskets are sisal plants or papyrus trees. The material feels very similar to wheat baskets which have a rough feel to the pattern of the basket. If I were to show others my agaseke basket, they would seem fascinated by the design, intrigued to know how it was made, and want to know where I bought it. Some people might question its importance like, how can a basket that is used to hold objects be so important to someone’s belief, life, and happiness?
Even though I have been so used to the “American culture”, I’ll definitely continue my cultural agaseke basket tradition just like my mother and her ancestors. When I receive my gifted agaseke basket from my mother, I will make sure to keep it as long as I can so that I may pass down my culture and agaseke basket to my children. Even though my family and I aren’t physically in our native country the agaseke basket is a part of it, and continues to remind us where we come from.
The agaseke basket has been passed down for generations and will continue to be with our family as a symbol of our heritage. In Kirundi, agaseke basket is described as kugemura which is a basket with plenty of food or “bring food”. Many people look forward to being gifted toys, money, games, and clothes. While in my culture (Burundi), we gift people large amounts of food either be alive, dry, or raw. To simply show signs of respect, love, and blessings to others.
Credited Cite:
Agaseke, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, September 4, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agaseke#:~:text=Agaseke%20is%20a%20type%20of,a%20sloped%20conical%20fitted%20lid
