Rwandan Traditional Religion and music

It is not possible to separate music and African Traditional Religion because they are both linked. “In Africa, songs are always associated with life events: births, mourning, games, prayers, work, wars, love… Music, singing, dancing are presents at all key moments in a person‟s social life not only as a vector of participation with the group but also as a source of information on the nature of the gathering.”³⁸² The African music took root in the long history of Traditional Religion that has been transmitted from one generation to the other. The drum is the commonest musical instrument in Rwanda.

Julius Adekunda observes that “Rwandan music can be classified into three main categories:

First, indirimbo are songs, which are meant only for listening and for enjoyment. They are vocal and produced mainly in the Kinyarwanda language. Second, imbyino are songs for dancing.

Third are the ibitekerezo, which are sung poetry or stories, songs about cows, dynastic poems

377 Ibid, p.28

378 John A Azumah, ibid, p.5, quoted V. Monteil, L’Islam noir (Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1964), p.41.

379 Ibid, p.5, quoted Mazrui, Triple heritage, pp.142-143.

380 Marabout is Muslim religious leader and teacher in West Africa.

381 Ravane Mbaye, L’Islam noir en Afrique, in Tiers-Monde, 1982, tome 23 no92. L‟Islam et son actualité pour le Tiers Monde( sous la direction d‟Ahmed Moatassime), pp.831-838.

382 Religion in the African Diaspora,

<http://www.africanholocaust.net/html_ah/RELIGION%20IN%20THE%20AFRICAN%20DIASPORA.html>, 10th March 2010.

(ibisigo)”³⁸³ In singing you can communicate with the invisible world of spirit. In Rwandan traditional religion, the cult of kubandwa starts by singing until people are possessed by spirits.

Often the master of ceremony is accompanied with music instruments like drum, tam-tam, whistle, bell, and horn. There is no doubt that every cult of kubandwa is accompanied by songs and dances. The influence is seen in African church worships where choirs and songs took the most part of the service. This can be observed in some black churches in USA where singing and dancing are a significant part of the worship.

That power of music appeared during the nonviolent African-American civil rights movement led by Rev. Martin Luther King (1929-1968), where songs strengthened it in different march demonstrations. Also one way “the African-American captives dealt with the trauma of slavery, was by using the music to tap into the spiritual realm for sustenance.”³⁸⁴ Like African Traditional Religion,

African music has a long history that has been orally transmitted from one generation to the other and captured in written form by western explorers. ³⁸⁵

The relation between African people and music is emphasized by Stone who says that: “dance, music, and story-telling are parts of the ways of expressing the daily lives of the African people.

Hence, it is difficult to separate music from the cultural context of the African.”³⁸⁶ Unfortunately;

A number of indigenous songs and instruments have been kept away from Western Christian church services until recently. Africans who decided to join Christianity were encouraged to disassociate themselves with the traditional musical practices, while others continued to practice African traditional beliefs in secret.³⁸⁷

383 Adekunde O. Julius, Culture and customs of Rwanda, Greenwood Press, London 2007, p.135

384 John Mbiti, African religions and philosophy, < http://ctl.du.edu/spirituals/Literature/time.cfm>, 18th March 2010.

385 Exploring Africa, < http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m13/notes.php>, 22nd December 2012.

386 Indigenous Music Modes of Communication and their Relevance in a Contemporary Times among the Boosi in Ghana <file:///C:/Users/pc/Downloads/11295-13603-1-PB.pdf> , 25th July 2016.

387 Ibid.

The connection between African music and dance to African Traditional Religion has helped to sustain a number of ancient musical practices.³⁸⁸

In Rwanda and in other parts of the Great Lakes Region;

Traditional music is so diversified that each rhythm carries its own symbolically valuable significance. For example the tam-tam doesn‟t only incite dancing but is also able to speak and listen. Thus, during a festive occasion such as a marriage or the naming of a newborn, the sounds of the tam-tam spread the news. When there is mourning, that is broadcast too. The music also announces the steps to follow during a ceremony.³⁸⁹

Drums are punctuated by different rhythms: rhythms for calling to help, for joining in prayer, for announcing the death… Everyone learns of it by the sound of the tam-tam. From a distance, a Rwandan can interpret what happens in neighboring communities.

In Rwanda, drums carried importance beyond their socio-cultural context. The royal sacred drum called kalinga became a symbol of political power. A Rwandan saying explicitly states, he is the king who has the drums. The drum represents the king. And the shout of the people could not be louder than voice of the drum.

Drums were beaten only on special occasions, such as the celebration marking the beginning of planting season to symbolize the rhythm of life, making public announcement or inviting people to public meeting. Royal drums were marks of identity and authority. Each ruler had royal drums, which were carried wherever the king went. In the case of war, the royal drums were often jealously guarded to prevent their capture by enemies.³⁹⁰

Singing and dancing are inseparable and they are part of Rwandan life in church and public activities, such as weddings, birth celebrations, worships, launching of new projects, political campaigns, or welcoming visitors. The traditional music is the most attracting for all categories

388 Exploring Africa, Ibid.

389 Music and religion in Africa, <http://afiavi.free.fr/e_magazine/spip.php?article572>, 22nd December 2012.

390 Adekunde O. Julius, Ibid, p.135,136.

of ages. Traditional music accompanied by drums is considered as an important and valuable legacy of the ancestors.