How it began
The agaseke is a traditional woven basket of the people of Rwanda. Weaving it is customarily a women's craft, handed down from mother to daughter. The name joins a singular prefix, aga-, to -seke, the word for the object; the plural is uduseke. Rwandans make many styles of basket, and this one is the most notable because of its place in family life. The sources give no date for its beginning.
How it works
The basket has a flat circular base, sides taller than they are wide, and a fitted lid that slopes up to a point. It is coiled from native natural fibers such as sisal and grass in off-white, with patterns in naturally dyed purple, green, black, yellow and red, each pattern having its own meaning. The tight stitch keeps the contents, often dry foods, safe from pests and from the weather. Making one is slow and labor-intensive.
What changed first
In daily life the baskets store dry foods and other things that need covering. They hold food or gifts carried on a visit or to a wedding, which made them a sign of goodwill between families, and elders give one to a new bride. Where barter was common they were traded for other goods and so formed part of local economies. Skill in making one was taken as a mark of care and good upbringing.
What lasted
After the 1994 genocide many women were left as the sole providers for their families. They formed weaving cooperatives to earn a living and to care for orphans, and the cooperatives took this basket as a symbol of the peace of the new Rwanda. Survivors and others met and worked together in them. The image of the agaseke was placed on the national seal, and the basket became known abroad as the peace basket.
Where it stands today
Agaseke are sold around the world as a cultural export, through both government-sponsored and cooperative production. The trade has brought women weavers into regional and global markets and given them control over their work. The baskets also appear in women's traditional dances, where dancers present them to the audience.
