Abstract

Life writings, including memoirs, offer access to the unmediated memories and experiences of individuals as well as communities. When the members of a specific community are subjected to traumatic events such as genocide or war, these events leave irrevocable imprints in their collective memory. Life narratives of such events portray the ethos of the community. This article aims to trace mnemonic narratives as repositories of cultural memory. The study evaluates various aspects of cultural memory, specifically in the emergence of memory tourism in Rwanda, as depicted in Clemantine Wamariya’s life narrative The Girl Who Smiled Beads. Through a qualitative methodology, it analyzes the retrospective institutionalization of Rwandan history through variegated media. Such institutionalization or monumentalization of historical events in the shared past ensures a transgenerational transference of cultural memory. In addition, the article studies how memory tourism transforms these sites of memory into locations of commemoration, emotional reflection, and learning that inspire communities and individuals to encourage peacebuilding and voice for human rights violations. The author’s documentation of her personal memory blends seamlessly into the macrocosm of cultural memory through her evaluation of memory tourism in Rwanda. The analysis, therefore, establishes the life narrative as a testimony to power and resilience in cultural memory. The article aspires to explore the sense of oneness a community experiences in revisiting a shared cultural past.