5
“Fair-Skinned”
Flattery, Deceit, and Satire
As we have already seen, music could quell the temper of King Ssuuna II (r. ca. 1824–1854), soothe his insecurities, and influence him to reconsider his decisions, and like “The Handsome Catch a Slight Squint,” the song “Fair-Skinned” (“Kabirinnage”) manipulated King Ssuuna II through flattery. Mukasa Kafeero (b. 1971), the performer of the song’s version analyzed in this chapter, explained,
Similar to “The Handsome Catch a Slight Squint,” “Fair-Skinned” served to manipulate King Ssuuna II through flattery. The song built on the qualities of the king, mainly his vanity and physical imperfections, and its composers sang in mocking praise of the leader. They intended for the song’s lyrics to flatter him and increase his self-confidence despite his personal impediments. In turn, the tongue-in-cheek composition served to amuse the harsh king and make him reconsider his decisions. Whereas Ssuuna II’s father, Kamaanya, disliked music, and thus refused the benefits it could provide, Ssuuna II loved music and thus aimed to reap as much from it as he could.
In addition to being cross-eyed, he also had short stature. Whenever Ssuuna II looked at men who were taller than him, he suspected that they despised him because he was short. However, his musicians reassured him that his height was not a disease; rather, it was his handsomeness that had hindered his height. They told Ssuuna II that his creator had spent extra knowledge and wisdom making him handsome and that being taller would fall beyond the creator’s plan, potentially ruining his handsomeness. So they composed and performed a song titled “Fair-Skinned” to convey their admiration of his shortness. Mixing different idioms or variations (
ebisoko), they averred that he would have grown tall, but his handsomeness had impeded him from doing so. Whenever the king heard the song, he would undo whatever poor decisions he had made. Excited and thankful for “Fair-Skinned,” he would even instruct his officials to serve the performers food so they could eat their fill. Ssuuna II’s musicians sang these words:
Kabirinnage obulungi bwamulobera okuwanvuwa, Kabirinnage (Fair-Skinned’s handsomeness prevented him from growing tall, Fair-Skinned);
Kabirinnage omulungi gwe njagala (Fair-Skinned, the handsome I love).
1Kafeero interview, July 28, 2005.Kings Kamaanya and Ssuuna II held music in different types of regard. The result of this difference between the two kings was not simply audible, as the presence of music in Ssuuna II’s court also accompanied a philosophy of musicality that benefited the overall quality of his rule. It is as though the presence of song itself shaped Ssuuna II’s relationship to the court, his kingdom, and the world. As we have seen, music could control his temper, calm his insecurities, and affect his decisions. The impact of his court musicians, ensembles, and their songs was profound.
Kafeero’s performance of his version of “Fair-Skinned” is very brief, featuring his singing two alternating, cheerful phrases in low and high tonal ranges, respectively:
1 Kabirinnage obulungi bwamulobera okuwanvuwa, Kabirinnage
Fair-Skinned’s handsomeness prevented him from growing tall, Fair-Skinned
2 Kabirinnage omulungi gwe njagala
Fair-Skinned, the handsome I love
These vocal lines carry a bouncy rhythmic quality that would allow for drum accompaniment. Kafeero notes that in the context of ensemble performances, singers often perform the phrases in a repetitious, call-and-response style.
On the one hand, King Ssuuna II interprets the lyrics of “Fair-Skinned” as a form of flattery. He takes his musicians’ playful words to be genuine compliments, and his mood is lifted as a result. The words flip his understanding of their context, as they convince him that his stunted height is not a negative trait, a sign of weakness or disability, but a positive one, a sign of great handsomeness (line 1). On the other hand, the satirical tilt of the song reveals to other listeners that the musicians are in truth making fun of the king rather than complimenting him. This aspect, coupled with the king’s own gullible response, allows the musicians to express a nuanced criticism of the leader’s vanity, as they show that his shortcomings are both trivial, implied by the jovial tone of the song, and invisible to him. It is crucial here to recognize that the sarcastic interpretation is not the correct or better understanding of the song. Both the sarcastic and genuine interpretations are only possible through the other, and it is only when both interpretations are imagined simultaneously that the impact of the song comes to fruition.