The valuableness of Burundian culture is apparent in a strong literary and musical tradition and a wide range of fine crafts. Little government funding for cultural activities is available. The major libraries are at the University of Burundi, the American Cultural Center, and the French Cultural Center in Bujumbura and the Burundi Literature Center in Gitega. The most valuable museums are Bujumbura’s Living Museum and the National Museum in Gitega.

Much of Burundi's valuable cultural heritage, most notably folk songs and dances, was intended to extol the virtues of kingship; since the fall of the monarchy in 1966 and particularly after a massacre of Hutu in 1972, such cultural expression has waned. The annual sorghum festival was once the occasion for a magnificent display of orthodox dances by court dancers, with the Karyenda, an emblem of the monarchy, intended to give both musical and symbolic resonance to the ceremony.