The Soultown! Volume III: Issue 11 NOVEMBER 2019 | Page 8

THE GRIOT The Song of Songs SOLOMON MIHORO’S BLUES EXEGESIS OF THE SONG OF SONGS - (Kinyarwanda, English, French, Lingala) • Dedicated to Archbishop Vincent Nsengiyumva, Bishop Thadée Nsegiyumva,Bishop Joseph Ruzindana, Priests, and Civilians who were massacred at Kabgayi, June 5, 1994, Rwanda. College Saint André, Nyamirambo, Kigali, Pre- Genocide, Rwanda. Circa 1980 — Archbishop Nsengiyumva Vincent Visited College Saint André, an All-male boarding high school Administered by Belgian White Priests — I am delighted to be here today, announced the Bespectacled Archbishop, but I have a bone to Pick with you. None of you is joining the clergy. No one from College Saint André has become a priest. Mwa mbwa mwe! You songs of dogs! You eat our food and run to universities or École Supérieure Militaire. You join the Military Academy to become generals — Solomon Mihoro silently mumbled that Major General Habyarimana had once attended a seminary. Is he a priest now? Hasn’t he made you one his Presidential confidants?— Satisfied he had harangued the young men long enough, Archbishop Nsengiyumva Vincent announced the reading for His sermon against carnal desires. Open your Bible to The Song of Songs— “The Charms of the Beloved” and “The Beauty of the Bride”— Rumor has it that one of you has Dared to provide a false Exegesis of The Song of Songs— Beware of falsity, Mr. Solomon Mihoro!— Repeat after me, The Lord is the Lover, and his people are the Beloved. The Lord is the Lover, and his people are the Beloved. The Lord is the Lover, and his people are the Beloved— Solomon Mihoro’s mind was saying something else— You are a descendant of Holy Spectres who Suggested Faded Mem write the Bible— “The Bible is an antique Volume”— After service, Solomon Mihoro rushed to the band room. His schoolmates could hear his unmuted trumpet Blowing a staccato of sounds escaping through open windows. Some recognized the song as “Solomon Mihoro’s True Exegesis of The Song of Songs — “The Charms of the Beloved” “The Beauty of the Bride”— Solomon Mihoro’s Blues Affirmation of Love — Like the Prez, Solomon Mihoro sang “with his horn” À la Lester Young.” They could “almost hear the words”: O Buliza, the Pearl of Kigali where I found the most beautiful bride Affianced to be the mother of my children. Hear me well, lend me your ears: O Buliza, Umutako wa Kigali Aho nabonye Umugeni usumba abandi Uzambera nyina w’abana banjye. Nyumva neza, ntega amatwi: Njyewe , uwo Intwari zise Intimirwa Iri mu mihigo y’urukundo, Mwene Mupfumu n’Ibitare byo kwa Musana, Umwuzukuruza w’Ibuterambuto, Mwene Rumeza rwa Ruhakuzi Uhakura ba Nyiramwete ba Naciyimyeyo, Rwesamwikubitiro rw’Uwikavabibero Intakumirwa iyo igambirije gutaka Uburanga bwuje ubwiza Abiru bise Honey Ubuki: I, the one the Brave Ones called Intimirwa, the Unstoppable when he is on the battlefield of love. Son of the Sorcerer of the Jewels from Musana’s, Great…..great-grandson of the one who sows seeds, Son of Rumeza son of Ruhakuzi who Harvests honey from those who Elongated the lips of their mountain valleys. The one who strikes on the spot Son of the one from Burundi, The one whom they cannot prevent from Chanting the beauty of the one Whom Royal Court Ritualists called Honey Ubuki: Mbega ukuntu uri mwiza, Ubuki bwanjye Mbega ukuntu uri mwiza nshuti yanjye. Ikimero cyawe ni nk’agashyamba Kera amatunda aryohereye. Ufite amaso y’inyana yo mu ruhongore Antwara umutima nkabura umwuka. Imisatsi yawe imeze nk’umukumbi w’ Inyambo za Sebututu—Amashashi Yarasiye i Gasabo nyina ya Rwanda— Zimanuka umusozi wa Rubingo. O how beautiful you are, my Ubuki. O how beautiful you are, my friend. You are an Edenic garden that Produces the sweetest passion fruits. Your eyes resemble a young calf’s eyes in the kraal. Them brown eyes torment me so much I want to drown into them for eternity. Your hair is like Sebututu’s flock of Inyambo— Longhorn cattle bred in Gasabo of Rwanda— DR. PIERRE MVUYEKURE The Griot ________ Learn more from The Griot at: http://www.thesoultown.com/the-griot.html Email Me: [email protected] Nov. 2019 • The Soultown International Magazine • Celebrating 2 years • Connecting Our Cultures to Our Cyber & Conscious Communities • thesoultown.com 8