Mushanana

The umushanana (in plural: imishanana) is the traditional clothing dress of women in Rwanda and Burundi.

Rwandese dancers wearing mushananas

It consists of a long skirt gathered at the hips, a bustier and a stole draped over one shoulder. The fabric, which can be of any color, is generally lightweight to accentuate the draping effect.^[1]

Mushanana is now only worn for formal and ceremonial occasions such as weddings, church services or funerals, and by traditional dancers in both Rwanda and Burundi.^[2]

Mushanana is also worn by the Bafumbira women from Kisoro District in the Kigezi sub-region in the south-western part of Uganda.^[3]