As many parents and pet owners know, picking the perfect name for a new family addition can be tricky. Too traditional, and you might be labelled boring. Too unconventional and you risk going viral for shouting it in the park!
But when it comes to naming Rwanda’s mountain gorillas, the challenge becomes almost Herculean, for the whole country is watching. Rwanda’s most treasured wildlife, the newborn gorillas of Volcanoes National Park (VNP), are far too precious for simple birth certificates and everyday names. Instead, they’re named annually in one of Rwanda’s largest, grandest public celebrations: Kwita Izina.
Naming Rwanda’s gorillas was originally a small, private affair. Since the 1970s, VNP rangers have met annually to celebrate, identify, and name the previous year’s new arrivals. This combined intelligence is added to the Karisoke Research Centre’s database to aid gorilla monitoring and tracking. Karisoke, founded in 1967 by renowned primatologist Dr Dian Fossey, is the world’s longest-running gorilla research site; roughly half of Rwanda’s mountain gorilla families are protected and monitored daily by its trackers and scientists.
For decades, the rangers’ modest gathering went unnoticed. But then word spread, and the idea for Kwita Izina was born. The Kinyarwanda term for ‘giving one a name’, Kwita Izina is based on the Rwandan tradition of naming children among family and friends. Now a global, internationally televised celebration of nature, 2024 marks Kwita Izina’s 20th anniversary. As with 2023, tens of thousands are expected to attend. (That’s people, obviously: the gorillas remain up in the mountains, blissfully unaware of the party below!) Held in the foothills of VNP, the free festival features music, dance, storytelling, and speeches. A joyous carnival of conservation and culture, the day offers the chance to recognise and thank all those working tirelessly to protect these majestic primates and ensure their survival.
Mountain gorillas exist only in two regions of east-central Africa: the Virunga Massif—home to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park, and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which links to the DRC’s Sarambwe Nature Reserve.
During the last century, mountain gorillas were pushed to the brink of extinction by habitat loss, hunting, war, and disease. In 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated only 680 wild individuals remained. Thankfully, anti-poaching efforts, ecotourism, and community involvement are bearing fruit. The 2018 census recorded 1,063 individuals (including 600+ in the Virunga Massif). While still a worryingly low overall total, the increase was enough for mountain gorillas to jump from “critically endangered” to “endangered” on the IUCN Red List.
Every new gorilla birth is a reason to rejoice. VNP is home to around 24 gorilla groups (12 of which are habituated to visitors), and this year, 22 babies will be named in style. One of Rwanda’s top dignitaries will officiate, accompanied by an array of VIP ‘namers’ who’ll have the honour of symbolically adopting an individual baby and revealing its name to the world. Rather wonderfully, the babies’ names—still chosen by the rangers—are kept secret until the last minute; even the VIPs won’t know until the day.
Usually, Kwita Izina is held in September, but this anniversary year’s celebrations have taken longer to prepare and will take place on 18 October. The VIP namers hadn’t been announced at the time of writing, but we expect some famous faces. Past participants have included Sir David Attenborough, Idris Elba OBE, comedian Kevin Hart, footballing legends like Didier Drogba and Neymar, and even King Charles III, who attended virtually in 2022. The then Prince of Wales named a young male gorilla “Ubwuzuzanye”, which, he explained, “…means Harmony, since the restoration of harmony between nature, people, and planet is the most critical issue facing humanity”.
While mountain gorillas continue to endure multiple threats—climate change included—the growing number of newborns named each year is cause for hope. This year’s cohort will bring the total of mountain gorillas named to 419. And that’s certainly worth celebrating.
Kwita Izina is free to attend, so if you’d like to join the party and make it part of your next Rwandan trip, get in touch.
