(The following information is excerpted and lightly edited from my dissertation, Mbwirabumva [“I Speak to Those Who Understand”], copyright © 2013.)
Twasazareye:
“Twasazareye” was composed in mid to late 1986 in anticipation of Rwanda’s twenty-fifth anniversary of independence. The lyrics promote an ideal of national unity that transcends regional factionalism. It commemorates the abolition of the monarchy, the end of colonialism, and the establishment of the independent nation-state. Bikindi explicitly pays tribute to the 1959 Revolution and the three men—Mbonyumutwa, Kayibanda, and Habyarimana—who had since occupied the presidency. At the time of the song’s composition, Habyarimana was trying to garner support among southern Rwandans, culminating in the famous state-sponsored reburial of Mbonyumutwa on July 25, 1986 at the Stade de la démocratie in Gitarama, the same site where Rwanda’s independence was first formally announced on January 28, 1961. Mbonyumutwa was a southern leader of the 1959 Revolution and prominent member of PARMEHutu. He served as transitional president before Kayibanda formally assumed the presidency. The northern-western Bakiga, whom Habyarimana represented, eventually came to resent the way in which Mbonyumutwa, Kayibanda, and other southern-central Banyanduga politicians favored their constituents. When Habyarimana took power, the Banyanduga in turn began to resent him for favoring the Bakiga. The burial of Mbonyumutwa was a symbolic gesture of good faith on Habyarimana’s part towards the Banyanduga.
“Twasazareye” was Bikindi’s submission for a national music and dance competition jointly sponsored and organized by the Ministries of Youth and Culture, Scientific Research, and Higher Education, in addition to several other government agencies. The competition was held on January 18, 1987, at Nyamirambo Regional Stadium in Gisenyi. Participants were required to compose a song centered on themes of independence and patriotism. Bikindi won first prize, for which he received 250,000 Rwandan francs (roughly $500). His song was then selected for performance for the nation’s largest silver jubilee festival, held on July 1, 1987 at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali. An enormous ensemble of over 1,500 singers, dancers, and instrumentalists comprised of troupes from all over Rwanda performed the song under Bikindi’s direction. Mbonimana and Karangwa went so far as to claim that the song’s performance was based on North Korean government-orchestrated demonstrations, a rather questionable claim.[1] With subsequent regular airplay on Radio Rwanda, the song soon gained wide popularity throughout the country.
Bikindi sings the opening line and parts of the last section, but otherwise, the entire song is sung by choir. The song begins with a refrain (inyikilizo), which is sung seven times throughout. Five verses (intero) and a concluding call-and-response section are then interspersed between each refrain. An icyivugo section is inserted between the third refrain and fourth verse. Icyivugo is a highly energetic feature of many traditional warrior/hunter songs and dances, during which a male dancer, portraying a warrior/hunter, loudly and quickly “raps” several lines in which he boasts of his valor, prowess, and heroic accomplishments. The delivery is so rapid that even native Kinyarwanda speakers often struggle to comprehend much of what is said (it was not until I received a copy of the lyrics from Bikindi that the translators with whom I worked were able to understand the icyivugo section in “Twasazareye”).
The refrain’s lyrics remind Rwandans that, thanks to the Revolution, they no longer have to endure the harsh conditions forced upon them by the monarchy and colonialism, and so Rwandans should come together and revel in the joy and liberty of their newfound democracy. Each of the five verses takes the audience through a linear history of Rwanda, beginning with the slave-like experiences of ubuhake and other patron-client policies and concluding with the reign of President Habyarimana. Throughout this narrative Bikindi presents the monarchial and colonial regimes in a negative manner, conjuring imagery of whippings, long marches, and forced labor so that against this miserable background, the victory obtained through the Revolution seems all the more glorious. Two leaders of the Revolution are specifically mentioned in the fourth verse, Mbonyumutwa and Kayibanda, and they are presented as heroes to whom Rwandans should be indebted. This was significant in that it was the first time since Habyarimana overthrew Kayibanda that Kayibanda’s name had been publicly honored in a song performed at a state function. The fourth verse eulogizes these two men and the other architects of the Revolution. Here, the accompaniment thins out so that the effect is one of reverence and poignancy. The full accompaniment then returns, and in the fifth verse, Habyarimana is presented as an even more gallant and magnanimous figure. Mbonyumutwa and Kayibanda are regarded as relics of the past, but Habyarimana, some fifteen years their junior represents a new generation of leaders.[2] Whereas Mbonyumutwa and Kayibanda are folded into a verse honoring all of the Revolution’s architects, Habyarimana receives a verse all to himself.
“Twasazareye” is bifurcated both structurally and poetically, paralleling the division of Rwanda’s history into the pre-independence and post-independence eras. The first part of the song discusses the oppression and misery of Rwandans under the monarchy and colonialism, and the second part expresses the joy of independence and exalts those who fought to attain it. Structurally, the two parts are divided by the icyivugo section. As icyivugo is a traditional musical practice, it makes sense to conclude the part of the song that focuses on the past with this section. The icyivugo section also functions as a transition to the more triumphant second part of “Twasazareye.” During the icyivugo, the performer boasts of various deeds in which he came to the rescue of Rwandans who wasting away due to hunger and weariness or who were in danger of being executed by the king for failing to fulfill their duties. What seems at first to be a permanent and inescapable state of despair is shown to be something that can be overcome, but only through the heroic efforts of the younger generation symbolized here by the young warrior/hunter.
The lyrics also employ a subtle poetic shift as they move from the first to the second part of the song, from a state of despair to a state of triumph. Notice that the narrative voice switches from the second-person to the first-person point-of-view, both of which serve to personalize the song for the audience. This shift in perspective, in fact, occurs in the transitional icyivugo section. In the first part of the song, Bikindi not only encourages his listeners to reflect on what the elder generations endured under the monarchy; he addresses his elders directly, prompting them to remember what “you” experienced. The severe uburetwa and ubuhake systems were not abolished until 1949 and 1954 respectively, and only then under heavy pressure from the United Nations Trusteeship Council. At the time of the song’s premiere, most Rwandans in their forties and older thus had firsthand knowledge of life under the monarchy. Bikindi, though, was born in 1954. Switching to the first person point-of-view, the song acknowledges that he and others of his generation did not experience what their elders endured and are thankful to them for their struggle. He thus appeals to a younger generation to honor their elders and to not take their hard-fought independence for granted. In the concluding call-and-response section between Bikindi and the chorus, he switches back to the second-person, directly calling on all generations to remember the past and to be grateful for the present. Such cross-generational unity is a salient theme throughout much of Bikindi’s work.
The song was composed some four years
before the RPF invasion and nearly eight years before the genocide, and yet the
Prosecution chose to include the song in its indictment as evidence of
Bikindi’s intent to incite genocide.
Interestingly enough, Mbonimana was a member of the jury panel that
awarded Bikindi first prize. Mbonimana defended
himself during the trial by claiming that not all the jury members, including
himself, approved of the lyrics and agreed that Bikindi should have received
first prize.[3]
Akabyutso:
Bikindi composed “Akabyusto” in March 1993, a time that seemed for Rwandans as if the world was falling apart. The RPF had broken a cease-fire the month prior and taken over much of the north. Intense partisan violence raged throughout the streets, forests, and hills. The Arusha Accords were still being hammered out, and no one knew if or when they would be fully implemented and what they would entail for Rwanda’s political future. This period became known as Igihirahiro: “the time of uncertainty/ confusion/chaos.”
The song unfolds as a tirade against “bad Hutu” (ibihutu), especially those of the younger generation. The song is commonly known as “Nanga Abahutu”—“I despise Hutu”—as this phrase recurs often. Bikindi adopts the moniker Mutaba, meaning “savior,” and takes on the voice of a fatherly figure complaining to a fellow elder, both dismayed by the attitudes and behavior of these young, misguided Hutu. This unnamed elder periodically interjects in order to underscore the various points Bikindi makes throughout his diatribe (in the transcription provided on this site, his interjections are shown in parentheses). In parallel with the two characters, the accompaniment is comprised of a duet performed by Bikindi on inanga and by the other man on ikembe, the Kinyarwanda name for a metal-keyed lamellophone (the same instrument is called “likembe” elsewhere in Central and East Africa). The dialogue between Bikindi and the elderly man is segmented by a refrain performed by Bikindi five times throughout the song.
Bikindi sings that he despises those Hutu who are arrogant, disrespectful, greedy, selfish, corrupt, ignorant, violent, and who in behaving so have somehow renounced their identity as Hutu. Did Bikindi mean then to imply then that instead of fighting against one another, they should unite against Tutsi, or that by behaving so immorally, they were behaving like Tutsi? The song castigates those Hutu who are ashamed of being Hutu. Was this a way of denouncing Hutu who supported the RPF and were sympathetic to Tutsi, accusing them of betraying their own kind and doing so only for selfish gain? Why did he not sing that he also despises Tutsi—or all Rwandans for that matter—who engage in such supposedly wrongful behavior? Did he intend to subtly imply that Tutsi were so inherently bad that it was not worth pointing out? If he did intend to incite hatred and violence against Tutsi, why did he not just sing, “I despise Tutsi,” and portray them in a similarly caustic manner? The more charitable interpretation is that the song was intended to addresses partisan violence, and since it was mainly Hutu who perpetrated this violence, Bikindi singles them out.
Intabaza:
Bikindi composed “Intabaza” in late March or early April 1993, immediately after finishing “Akabyutso.” The lyrics reflect Bikindi’s background in theater in that they present an adventuresome tale about a hero, Mutabazi (similar to Mutaba from “Akabytuso” and having the same meaning as “hero” or “savior”). Mutabazi travels throughout the nation, and everywhere he goes he sees destruction and violence. As he makes his journey, he specifically mentions the various regions he encounters, identifying some by their historical names. Mutabazi observes that everywhere he goes, the bene Sebahinzi—“children of the Father of Farmers”—are tearing each other apart. In this way, the song appeals for nationalist unity above regional factionalism, informing listeners that no matter where they come from, they are all suffering in equal measure. Mutabazi then seeks out the diviner, Biryaobayoboke, in order to discover what can be done to restore peace to the land. The diviner first boasts of his abilities, recalling various clans and famous historical figures for whom he predicted their fates—again, another way in which the song calls for nationalist unity, but now a nationalism that transcends clanship. Each person mentioned by Biryaobayoboke was someone who was either killed by Ndori or later kings or by German colonial officers. Finally, Biryaobayoboke performs a divinitation ritual and concludes that the only solution to Rwanda’s woes is to hold free and fair elections and for everyone to honor the results, no matter who wins.
The dialogue between Mutabazi and Biryaobayoboke is divided throughout by three separate refrains, referred to in the following as refrains “A,” “B,” and “C.” These are sung by a choir which, as in “Twasazareye,” represents the common people (abaturage). The song begins with an instrumental introduction, performed on electric guitar, bass, and trap set, followed by the “A” refrain. The refrain describes the apocalyptic horrors that Mutabazi witnesses as he traverses the country. The “A” refrain occurs three times. The “B” refrain first occurs after Mutabazi meets Biryaobayoboke. As Biryaobayboke recounts the terrible things that Rwandans once endured, the chorus celebrates that “these things have disappeared,” then exhorts the bene Sebahinzi—“thechildren of the Father of Farmers”—to remain vigilant so that such evils remain outside the country. “Such evils” may have been intended to refer to the RPF, but to many listeners it was a thinly veiled reference to all Tutsi. The “B” refrain is sung four times. The “C” refrain then occurs after Biryaobayoboke provides Mutabazi with the solution to Rwanda’s problems. Here, the people call for elections and for acceptance of whichever leaders are chosen, whether they be Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa. The “C” refrain then repeats three times as it closes out the song.
Questions to ponder when examining the lyrics including the following. When Bikindi invokes such symbolic imagery as “umuzimu utera aturutse ishyanga”—“a spirit that attacks from a foreign place”—was this intended as a veiled reference to all Tutsi, whom many historians claim and many Rwandans believe migrated to Rwanda from the north long after Hutu had already settled the region? Or was it meant only as a reference to the RPF, which assaulted Rwanda from its foreign base in Uganda? When Bikindi addresses “the children of the Father of Farmers,” was he referring only to Hutu, long identified with farming while Tutsi were identified with cattle breeding?[4] Or was he referring to all farmers, which comprise upwards of 95% of Rwanda’s population and include most Tutsi and Twa? Perhaps “the children of the Father of Farmers”referred not just to farmers but more generally to the vast peasant population vis-à-vis a small but powerful urban ruling class which Bikindi perhaps saw as exploiting the ignorance, fear, and material need of the peasant masses for political gain. In the same vein, to whom did Bikindi intend to refer when he states that priority should be given to the benefits of rubanda nyamwinshi—“the majority people”? This was the central political philosophy of the 1959 Revolution and was used to justify the ethnic quota system that finally placed Hutu at the top of the political and socioeconomic ladder. When Bikindi exclaims that preference should be given to the majority, did he mean only Hutu, or could one reasonably interpret it, like “the children of the Father of Farmers” as a reference to all farmers or peasants, no matter their ethnicity? This passage occurs in the context of a broader call for fair and free elections in which the chosen leaders, whether Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa, should be respected. Perhaps, then, in invoking the terminology of rubanda nyamwinshi, Bikindi was demanding that politicians respect the wishes of voters; in other words, it is those candidates who garner the majority of votes who should be allowed to lead, not those who attempt to seize power through warfare, terror, corruption, or vote rigging. Still another way to look at it is that Bikindi was calling for political leaders to legislate on behalf of the majority of the citizenry rather than curry the favor and money of an elite minority at the expense of the majority.
[2] Mbonyumtwa was born in 1921, Kayibanda in 1924, and Habyarimana in 1937.
[1] Mbonimana and Karangwa 2006, p. 9
[3] Witness Gamaliel Mbonimana, T. 16 February 2006, p. 7.
[4] Tutsi were commonly referred to as bene Sebatunzi—“the children of the Father of Cattle Breeders.”