Uruhimbi is used in the context of milk, it refers to a traditional Rwandan storage hut specifically designed to store and preserve milk—especially fermented milk, which is culturally significant in Rwanda.
🔸 Purpose:
To store milk in traditional wooden containers called “ibyansi”.
To ferment milk into “ikivuguto” (a yogurt-like drink) in a controlled, cool environment.
🔸 Cultural Significance:
The milk uruhimbi is often a symbol of wealth, purity, and hospitality.
Only women or milk attendants may enter, maintaining ritual cleanliness.
Milk stored in the uruhimbi is used for ceremonial, hospitality, and daily nourishment.
🔸 Associated Practices:
The milk is filtered using sieves made of papyrus.
Containers are cleaned with special herbs, like umwungo, believed to enhance purity and taste.
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