GakondoThe Oral Literature of Rwandapresented by
|
|||
The Symbolism of Fire in Rwanda TraditionFire played a central role in traditional Rwanda, both in ritual and in ordinary life. We know that the fire in the hearth was to be tended and never be allowed to die, and if it did, then it was to be rekindled as soon as possible, for a fireless home was a lifeless house. For one who wishes to study Rwanda Wisdom Teachings, the role played by fire in our traditions is therefore a good entry point.In our Wisdom Tradition, all creative processes result from manipulation of fire in one form or another. As we progress in the study of our oral traditions, we shall see that fire, umuriro, is energy in its various aspects. Fire is the agent of development and evolution at all levels, and creation is a fiery process. Inner development is an energy experience involving a "forging process". The candidate King is said to be "forged out of (ordinary) humanity" through the agency of the sacred Hammer, Ingabe-Nyundo working that pure metal that is the heir to the throne of Kigwa, Son of Nkuba, or "Thunder", the Heavenly God of Fire -- the God that is Fire. The meaning of names are essential to the understanding of our traditions as the saying indicates: "Izina ni ryo Muntu (or ni ryo kintu"): the name is the very man or thing named), they contain in themselves much of the meaning of the story. Humbler humans also undergo major or "energy events" at various points in their lives. Indeed, early humanity came out of the animal kingdom thanks to fire. All school children know this from their study of early man and the discovery of fire, but this teaching was also given by our Ancient Teachers: earth humanity evolved out of the animal kingdom through the agency of fire. We are taught that the Lord Nkuba sent down His Children to help with evolution of mankind. The Sons of Heaven came down to earth, and found there a people still in the animal stage, whom they called them Abasangwabutaka, "those found on the earth or the ground", while they took the name Ibimanuka, "those who came down from heaven". The name "Abasangwabutaka" therefore refers to "Earth Humanity", which implies that there were other humans existing elsewhere. Whatever the truth of the matter may be, the name as it is used in the Rwanda Myth of Origin does not refer to any of the population groups currently existing in Rwanda, just as the "Ibimanuka" as meant in the myth must not be confused with any such group. It is a fact that these two names, "Abasangwabutaka" and "Ibimanuka", are names of contemporary clans, but these clan names were simply used as symbolic depictions of early humanity. The same reasoning applies in South Africa, where today's Zulu people call themselves after their own Ibimanuka -- actually named "Imanyukela", those who descended, according to Vuzamazulu C. Mutwa's book, "Indaba, My Children!) These the Sons of Nkuba had brought with them some fire from heaven, which they used to train Earth humanity into the art of evolution. From this we see that God is Fire in Rwanda Tradition, that His children brought fire to Earth, for which reason they are called "Lords of Flame", being themselves of a fiery nature. Thus fire is the element which made it possible for mankind to evolve out of the animal stage into full humanity. All the rituals of the Kings of Rwanda, began with a fire ceremony, which was a miniature of the Fire ritual. The ordinary citizen in his or her home did the same, for the royal rituals were really only a more formalized and more grandiose form of what every home practiced. There used to be a sacred fire which burnt uninterrupted in one or other of its own alternative "capitals", Imirwa y'Umuriro: Karama na Mashyiga or Bubona rwa Kamonyi. This sacred fire was called the "Fire of Gihanga", although it was of heavenly origin, and thus pre-existed this Founder of the Second Dynasty. It was ceremonially relit -- or "rejuvenated", as the phrase goes -- by the "Fire King", Yuhi, whose reign returned cyclically, every fourth generation, that is, every century or so. For that ceremony, the text of which is called "Inzira y'Umuriro", The Way of Fire, King Yuhi had to marry a young woman from the Abaha clan, Umukobwa w'Abaha, who then became the "Fire Queen. The Daughter of the Abaha
We see in this text that the Daughter of the Abaha -- whose father and mother have to be still alive -- is invited to step forward and head the procession. At her side walks her brother (or first cousin on the father's side) whose father and mother are still alive. Behind them walk the daughters and sons of the following clans, who too have their fathers and mothers still alive: Abeega, Abakono, Abagesera, Abatsoobe, Abeenemugunga, and Abeenechyambwe. We note that the order procession was arranged in a certain way. First to come forward were the descendents of the Three Sons of Mutuutsi, Son of Nkuba Shyerezo (= God): Muha, ancestor of the Abaha, Seerweega; the ancestor of the Abeega; Mukono, the ancestor of the Abakono. Alongside the Abanyiginya, descended from Kigwa Sabizeeze, brother to Mutuutsi, these three clans formed the original "foursome" which was responsible for the nurturing of early mankind. Later, when mankind had somewhat evolved, a new clan was added to the group: the ruling clan of the Abasangwabutaka, or Earth humanity newly emerged from the darkness of mindlessness. After the four Ibibanda come the daughter and son of the Abagesera. This clan really came to the fore at a later date, replacing in the ranks of the Ibibanda, the Abazigaaba, who were among the first humans to "graduate" to full humanity, having recently emerges into self-consciousness. Gihanga's mother was one. The latter were to be replaced by the Abasinga, from whose ranks came the mothers of many of Gihanga's successors. But these were also later replaced by Abagesera, who thus became the new number four in the Ibibanda group, while the three Ibimanuka maintained their place throughout. The procession is then joined by the daughter and son of the Abatsoobe, who owe their rank as number five to the fact that their ancestor Rutsoobe was, among the seven sons of Gihanga, the one who showed a keen interest in rituals and in religious and philosophical matters in general. He was therefore taught with special care, and later became the Teacher of Kings and Men, and Chief Priest to the Kingdom. The remaining clans, Abenemunyiga, Abenemugunga, Abenechyambwe (the list is slightly different in other processions), are descended from King Ndoba, a great-grand-son of King Kanyarwanda, son of Founder King Gihanga, who had an incredible number of children, becoming the Grand Ancestor of almost anyone who does not belong to any of the above mentioned clans, whether classified as Tutsi, Hutu or Twa, for Rwandan clans (with one or two exceptions), include members from the three categories. This implies that whatever these Tutsi, Hutu and Twa caterogies may be, they do not fit the definition of a "tribe", least of all an "ethnic group". According to our traditions, Mankind was born of "Fire". As a matter of fact, the Fire Ritual was a re-enactment of the creative act of Nkuba Shyerezo, the King of Heaven, wielding His Hammer Nyarushara. This is a symbolic language, not to be taken literally. In Rwanda's Creation Story, "fire" refers to the energy which animates and gives life to all forms in cosmos. "Forging" means organizing this energy. When our Ancestral Teachers say that Mankind's evolution out of the animal kingdom was achieved by means of "fire" taken from King Nkuba's Celestial Smithy, they are telling us that human evolution was aided by the Sons of Nkuba, using "Heavenly the Fire", which is divine energy. The bible also tells us that "God is a consuming fire", and Moses experience God's presence as fire, first in the "burning bush". Our God is a Smith, not a Potter A well-known joke shows that Rwandans relate creation to metallurgy. A couple had escaped alone to a foreign land. "But how could you leave your children behind? -- Oh! Never mind that! We'll make some more! Tuzany inyundo ibacura, tuzanye n'uruganda! We've brought the hammer and the workshop (his penis and her womb)." On a more refined note, the sacred Hammer of the Kings of Rwanda (Ingabe-Nyundo), a ritual object said to be of celestial origin, was known as "Inyund icur Abaami", the Hammer which "forges the Kings" out of mere humans, just as these were forged out of the "cave man". Evolution is thus presented in our Wisdom Teachings as a process of successive refinement of matter in its various forms. Through a preliminary refinement of his physical and mental matter, man attained self-consciousness. Further refinements will eventually take him closer to his ultimate home in heaven, kwa Shyerezo. The Fire from heaven thus represents both physical fire and the "fire of mind", that "divine fire" which gave birth to intelligence, or "mental fire". That is why the Ibimanuka, those Sons of Nkuba who were our Divine Forgers, are called "Lords of Flame", for they brought fire to "Earth Humanity", thus contributing to their material and spiritual development. Mental development is called "gucur ubwenge", which explains why our Royal Genealogical Lists are named "Ubucurabwenge", the Forging of Mind, for the role of the Kings as successors of the Lords of Flame is to promote mental development in their human subjects. Present-day leaders in Rwanda and everywhere also have the same objective: human development through education and increased consciousness, as Mr. S.M. Sebasoni has reminded us in his latest book, Le Rwanda: Reconstruire une nation, stressing the need "first to cultivate the minds and hearts" of our people. (Editions Rwandaises, 2007, p. 28) This "divine metallurgy" was arduous and frustrating work. But when the God-Kings had spent millions of years at this work, Humanity finally evolved the "mind principle", achieving "self-consciousness", and improved their physical bodies. Abazigaaba on the Evolutionary Fast Track The Abazigaaba reigned as queen mothers during the earlier period, the high water mark of their power being the reign of Gihanga, Founder of the Second Dynasty. "It came to pass, the story goes, that Kazi, the last of the God-Kings, found the daughter of the Abazigaaba so beautiful that he married her, and they gave birth to Gihanga, who was to found a new dynastic line." Her name was Nyirarukangaga, and she became the mother of Gihanga, as we read this nicely rhyming little text in the Royal Lists:
As the Abazigaaba joined the three existing Ibibanda (Abaha, Abakono and Abeega), the four matridynastic clans then formed a "square, thus providing a stable foundation for the kingdom. There were thus four positions to be occupied: the first three belong "by right" to the Ibibanda while the fourth position was successively occupied by the Abazigaaba, then the Abasinga who provided many queen mothers of the Second Dynasty, and later on, the Abagesera. In principle, or perhaps just in theory, the female line succession to the throne was regulated by traditional law. In actual history, the Genealogical Lists show a predominance of the Abeega clan in latter years. "And They Receive Each Other"
In this very beautiful ceremony, the King and Queen thus bestow on each other the gift of their selves, and each accepts this gift graciously, by consummating their union, thereby symbolically giving birth to a New Fire, and effecting a renewal of all the life in the whole Kingdom. When the various ceremonies are over, the King gives the Queen a truly royal gift: seventy head of cattle (plus a bull and a small number of sheep) and she settles in her newly built palace, and tends the sacred fire with the aid of the Fire priestesses. Cultivating National Unity National unity was the fruit of the union of the royal couple during the Fire Ritual, as the High Priest -- Umutsoobe, the priest from the House of Rutsoobe, son of the Founder King Gihanga -- proclaimed in a "Unity Sermon", given in the "People's Place", Kukaarubanda, the esplanade before the royal city, as a brief dialogue between him and the people, of which he was the Grand Instructor. For this brief but powerful and highly significant homily, the High Priest used a quaint "visual aid": a hoe, known as Isuka y'Ichyuumwe, the "Hoe of Oneness". With this hoe, the King "tilled the soil of Rwanda, and sawed the seeds of unity":
The meaning of this last phrase is that country belongs to King Yuhi alone, and is therefore united, and not divided, with portions being ruled by other kings, usurpers or invaders or separatists, who do not love the people as does Yuhi, the legitimate king. This "Hoe of Oneness" was among the sacred emblems re-forged during the preliminary rites of the Fire ceremonial, using special iron ore extracted from the Royal Mines of "Mu Nganzo zaa Mushongi". This shows clearly that the life of the nation as a living body, needs constant tending and rekindling, like the Fire which represented both inner and outer life. The "Heart Prayer" and the "Unity Hoe" demonstrate that our ancient Priest Kings used ritual to strengthen national unity, protect the country from negative forces and promote the nation's wellbeing. Their major function was to draw down divine energy from the higher realms of Spirit and distribute it into the lower planes of human living. By their knowledge and proficiency in rituals, they were able to act as mediators between the invisible and the visible worlds, drawing divine Energy down into the very heart of the Kingdom, increasing its energy level, and strengthening its unity. Whatever one may think of this old religious system, the fact remains that national unity was maintained, and as Mr. Sebasoni stresses, this is still our number one asset."(2007, p. 10) This is one reason why we should value our ancestors' policies and achievements. Comparing the monarchy with the parents of a minor child, Mr. Sebasoni points out that "when the child has become an emancipated adult [as Rwanda is now, as a democratic nation], he does not spit upon his parents." We should do like the Chinese, he adds: "a great nation which, although now under a communist regime, still respect their ancient monarchs and work hard to preserve their imperial culture, "using it to boost their tourism" (p. 21). Indeed, it a well-known fact today that any development efforts that are not rooted in the country's culture is doomed to failure. Rose-Marie Mukarutabana |
|||
Site designed and hosted by:
WebSpinners.com
(info@webspinners.com)