Gakondo
The Oral Literature of Rwanda
presented by
Rose-Marie Mukarutabana
A description of the four major oral documents
The ancient Kingdom of Rwanda (see map, above) had a considerable body of oral literature. The Sages themselves classified the traditional texts in two major categories: the more formal royal documents, which are described as "official tradition", and the non-formal, popular literature.Royal literature refers to that body of knowledge enshrined in a set of documents, the creation, memorisation and preservation of which was officially regulated and promoted by the Kings of Rwanda. Responsibility for this heritage was entrusted to specific families, and handed down from one generation to the next, but always under the active supervision of the Kings.
I. Royal Literature
Rwanda Tradition classifies these documents according to the nature of their content and intent, as well as their literary form. There are four major sets of texts:- Ubucurabwenge - a royal genealogical list
- Ibitekerezo - a collection of royal myths
- Ibisigo - a collection of royal poetry
- Ubwiru - a set of royal rituals
The Genealogical Lists Ubucurabwenge
The term "Ubucurabwenge" may be translated as the forging of intelligence, or mind. This document lists the genealogy of the Kings of Rwanda. The list was recited in ascending order, beginning with the reigning King and Queen Mother, and ending with Muntu (Man, Mankind), the first King of Men, whose father was Kigwa, son of Shyerezo Nkuba, the King of Heaven. The List spans forty-three (43) reigns, and gives the names of the King and Queen Mother, with their ascendency on the mother's and father's side. It was recited at coronation ceremonies.
The forty-three reigns are grouped in three dynasties:
- Ibimanuka: the "Descents", or the Divine Kings
- Abami b'Umushumi: the Kings of the Cord
- Abami b'Ibitekerezo: the Kings of Mind
The genealogical list Ubucurabwenge is, as it were, the backbone of the whole Rwanda wisdom literature, around which the other three documents are structured. Thus the myths tell about the life and work of the kings as they appear on the list; the poetry extols their deeds of valor, justice and mercy, as they succede each other from father to son; the book of rituals prescribes specific cyclic observances patterned on the order of succession as recorded in the Ubucurabwenge.
The Ubucurabwenge lists were recorded and published by Rwandan scholar Alexis Kagame in his book Inganji Kalinga (Kabgayi, 2nd ed. 1959, Book II, pp. 98-101). The officials charged with the preservation of Ubucurabwenge are known as Abacurabwenge, the "Forgers of Intelligence".
The Royal Myths Ibitekerezo
The term "Ibitekerezo" means both "thoughts" and "narratives." In the context of the four royal documents, this implies that the royal myths are an intelligent, thoughtful narration of past events. The great myths of Rwanda are therefore the result of a deliberate effort to make sense of the past, or gain "Intelligence of the Past", as the name suggests.
Rwandan mythology is patterned on the genealogical lists, and just like the poetry Ibisigo, follows the chronological order given in the royal lists. This appears clearly in A. Kagame's Inganji Kalinga cited above, and also in A. Coupez & Th. Kamanzi, Récits historiques rwanda (1964).
The Royal Poetry Ibisigo
The term "Ibisigo" was translated by A. Kagame as "what is left, or bequeathed to posterity". This document recounts, in poetic form, the deeds of the Kings, mostly following their chronological order, though there are a number stand-alone poems. Alexis Kagame, who considered the Ibisigo as a major source of historical information, collected some 176 poems, some of which are unfortunately fragmentary. He published French translations of some of these poems in his various books and articles, including La Poésie dynastique au Rwanda (1951), and Introduction aux Grands Genres lyriques de l'ancien Rwanda(1969).
As a literary genre, the symbolic poetry Ibisigo is said to have existed from ancient times, but it was restructured and further developed by Nyiraruganzu Nyirarumaga, Queen Mother of the great Saviour-King Ruganzu Ndori. According to Tradition, this great lady, who is one of the great contributors to the Wisdom Teachings of Rwanda, established a royal institution named "Intebe y'Abasizi" (the Chair of Poets), whose role was to promote and preserve the art of Ibisigo. The Queen Mother herself, along with her great son, composed a number of poems.
The Royal Rituals Ubwiru
The etymology of the term "Ubwiru" is not obvious. According to Alexis Kagame, Ubwiru means "inviolable secret", but this is only a reference to the fact that the priests Abiru were held to the strictest secrecy about the texts of royal rituals. This term may be related to "ubwire", dusk, which suggest that "ubwiru" may mean "Hidden Things", or things hidden behind a dusky veil, at once dark and thin and somewhat see-through.
The texts of the Ubwiru rituals, called "Inzira" (Ways, or Paths), were dictated to Alexis Kagame in 1945, and later edited and translated into French by M. d'Hertefelt and André Coupez, and published in a bilingual edition (MRAC, Tervuren, 1972). The published version contains 17 sets of ritual texts, while Kagame had announced having collected 18 sets. The missing ritual is "Inzira y'Amapfizi", or The Way of the Bulls, a ritual involving the sacred bulls, which were living emblems of royalty. Let's hope that this key document will be found in the Kagame Archives.
II. Other Types of Literature
Besides these four official documents, Rwanda has an equally impressive array of the more popular type of oral literature. As explained above, the distinction between official and popular literature is based on whether the content was officially controlled or not. It entails no value judgment as regards the content. Some rwandologists have contrasted learned literature (littérature savante) with popular literature (littérature populaire), which implies that the non-controlled material is of a lesser literary quality. This is not the case, as Pierre Smith has demonstrated in his collection of popular narratives (in Le Récit populaire au Rwanda, 1975), which includes some of the most precious treasures of Rwandan literature.The following are some of the popular literary genres:
- Amateka y'Imiryango: histories of the major families of Rwanda
- Ibyivugo: Self-praises and heroic poetry
- Indirimbo z'Ingabo: heroic hymns and army music
- Amazina y'inka ("Cow Names"): pastoral poetry
- Imyasiro: hunting poetry
- Imigani: proverbs and sayings
- Ibisakuzo: riddles and enigmas
- Inanga: songs by inanga musicians (Inanga is a traditional string instrument)
- Songs: lullabies, love and praise songs, group work songs, etc.
Rwanda's popular literature has received little attention from academic research. Alexis Kagame, who is the undisputed leader in Rwandan Studies, made the official genres and aristocratic literature his main concern, although he did produce much work in the other genres as well. Other researchers have generally followed the trend set by Kagame, so that much the incredibly rich and varied stock of Rwanda literature is still largely unexplored. It is hoped that this web site will play a role in encouraging more research into Rwanda's Oral Literature.
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