Tutsi Basketry Mat

The Tutsi tribe of Rwanda produces some of the finest of African basketry.  A variety of grasslike plants provide the raw materials. While men use the straw for farming purposes, making granaries, beehives, and fishnets, the women create more refined woven artifacts such as baskets,  mats, and screens. They are decorated with two-toned straw in a  sophisticated, delicate zig-zag linear arrangements.