Music & Morality in Rwanda

In pre-colonial Rwanda, if a man was still single at age 35, villagers would sequester him in his hut and beat the impuruza (danger drum) to bring attention to his shame and call upon interested single women in the village to form a circle outside his home. He would be led inside the circle and the drumming would continue, aiming to make him feel ashamed, until he chose a bride. As soon as a marriage was confirmed, the danger drums would be replaced by indamutsa drums to send joyous news about the newlyweds to the village. This is according to Obed Hakuzimana of the Gisakura Tour Company, whom I met recently in Rwanda.

Drums such as the indamutsa and impuruza have been played in Rwanda for centuries, as has the inanga, the country’s oldest Indigenous stringed instrument. I had seen a riveting video of the inanga in preparation for my visit to Rwanda. Its unique sound and the rhythms being played carried a marked similarity in feel to old-time blues in the southern US. According to the DEKKMMA project: “In organology, the inanga is known as a ‘trough-zither’, which gives an indication of the shape of the instrument, namely a flat soundboard [resonator] with slightly concave sides reminiscent of the shape of a trough.” The soundboard has notches carved at each end to hold the strings and is often decorated with oval incisions, ‘the eyes of the inanga’, and geometric shapes. Although the instruments appear to have six to 12 strings, in fact, only one continuous string is pulled taut from each end of the soundboard and looped back through the notches. Men used to play the instrument for chiefs, often praising their skills in battle. The songs they sing are in Kinyarwanda, the language of Rwanda, and recount folklore and epic historic tales or offer moral advice.

During my trip to Rwanda, I was privileged to witness three musicians in Musanze, in the northwest of the country, who continue to play the inanga and other stringed instruments.

Leonard Gacungu seated on a traditional Rwandan stool (pictured inside a replica of a royal hut in the Gorilla Guardians Village in Kinigi, Musanze, Rwanda, January 10, 2024), plucking the inanga and singing a morality tale in a style evocative of talking blues

Anastase Byukusenge Mugabe gets his stage name of Kaningiri from another instrument he plays, the endingidi (an African fiddle). He greeted us outside his home in rural Musanze, dancing while brandishing a shield his grandfather won in battle in the Congo. He sang of love and Rwanda’s beauty, accompanying himself on the inanga, endingidi and umuduri (a single-stringed, musical bow). Kaningiri inherited his passion for music from his father, who did not teach him to play, as the custom had always been to leave instruments available in the home with the aim of children teaching themselves.

The African Wildlife Foundation has reported that the silverback mountain gorillas in northwest Rwanda are the world’s only great ape species enjoying a population surge. This is mainly down to the Gorilla Guardians Village project, founded by Edwin Sabuhoro in 2004, which aids conservation efforts at the Volcanoes National Park. The village employs former poachers and people displaced from their land to make room for the park.

Poacher turned performer Felicien Kabatsi, inside a replica of a Rwandan royal palace in the Gorilla Guardians Village, strumming the inanga, which is tuned to an anhemitonic (major) pentatonic scale: ‘Dore inagi – behold the gorilla. Yes, look at him as he approaches’

Leonard Gacungu, a regular performer at the Gorilla Guardians Village, explains: “I began singing when I was a little boy, and my music is a heritage from my father. I sing about the history of Rwanda, mostly the 19th century. I play inanga here and for weddings and special occasions. I also play drums, umuduri and endingidi at tourist and cultural events.”

One song he played was about “a child without discipline. His parents forced him to go to school, so the child killed his father. All children should be taught discipline.” Another tune – recited rapidly in a near-whisper – warned of a daughter defying her father.

Another frequent performer at the Gorilla Guardians Village, and a former poacher for more than 30 years, is the charismatic musician Felicien Kabatsi. Kabatsi stopped working his fields when the director of the village phoned to tell him about my interest. He greeted me with extended hugs and a huge, warm smile. He reminisced, “I was taught to play at age 18 by a family member, who would play music for the elders throughout the night.” Kabatsi went to prison for hunting a buffalo, and his brother was killed that day during the hunt by the same animal. He now devotes his talents to advocating for gorilla conservation. He plays inanga, umuduri, endingidi and drums. ‘We the people of Musanze will never betray the gorillas again’, he sang during his performance, with Gacungu clapping along in rhythm.

Looking towards the future: Rwanda’s most traditional solo instrument, the inanga, is increasingly often paired with modern instruments in contemporary performances. The pentatonic tuning perhaps lends itself well to musicians accompanying it on diatonic instruments. While it was played only by men at one time, female musicians, led by Sophie Nzayisenga and Esther Niyifasha, are increasingly taking centre stage.