Mourning and Ridicule
Different interpreters of “Householder” share varied perspectives on the meanings of the song via the themes of mourning and ridicule. One of them is Edward Ssebunnya Kironde, who speaks to the sarcastic tone that is both present in the opening line and underpins the entire song. He notes, “The song’s most notable theme is the sense of sarcastic mourning. The theme allows the performers to pay lip service to the death of their leader while using it as a way of expressing how pleased they are to no longer deal with the oppression he brought.”
1Kironde interview, December 19, 2019.Kironde also highlights how the voice of the musician functions as an extension of the people. For example, through an artful use of language and poetry, Ssuuna II’s musicians capture the frustration and hurt that the king creates in a way that exceeds the basic purpose of articulating the masses’ thoughts. That is, the musicians simultaneously express the people’s frustrations while providing guidance and commentary on what leaders and their subjects might do to avoid failures in the future. Kironde notes,
It is important to note that householder (
nnannyinimu) is an honorific for either the king of Buganda or a landowner. Whatever that person says, those he looks after should obey without question in part because he always has the final say. But sometimes a house head
can be
a dictator who ignores the opinions and well-being of others. The late President Idi Amin is a good example because he sought total submission from the people he ruled. “Householder” expresses the emotions of oppression that people under the rule of Amin and other despotic leaders experienced. The song also expresses the damage that such leaders impose on their subjects. It accomplishes these goals in a particularly poetic and beautiful manner, comparing a dangerous snake (“the puff adder of Wamala, Nnabulagala”) to a dangerous and untrusted leader. Like the snake, he deserves to be struck over the head as soon as he appears. That is what Ssuuna II’s people felt was justified at the time and many people feel the same way today.
2Ibid.Kironde underscores how Ssuuna II’s court musicians bridge the gap between past and present and the gap between life and death. In the first sense, they find a way to repurpose the mistakes of the past as information for the present, generating a road map of failures for leaders to avoid going forward. In the second sense, they resurrect the king through song by recognizing his life’s presence, even after his physical death. By ridiculing his rule, they reaffirm his life and mold it to create a new path for the kingdom to follow. Kironde’s example of the former Ugandan president Idi Amin provides a glimpse into the previous struggles surrounding freedom of expression. Peter Cooke and Sam Kasule write that during the reigns of Presidents Idi Amin and Milton Obote, educated Ugandans became political targets because the government feared anyone who could think critically.
3Cooke and Kasule 1999, 7. For many of them, their focus shifted from maintaining their professional or academic endeavors to simply trying to protect themselves and their families.
4Ibid.The same was true for performers of traditional music, which, as Andrew Tracey and Hugh Tracey confirm, had such strong ties to the king of Buganda, or
kabaka. Because of this, after the 1966 attack on the Mmengo royal court and the king’s consequent exile, many musicians stopped performing altogether or would only practice in secret.
5Tracey and Tracey 1998, 5. For instance, trumpet bands so strongly evoked the kingship that simply being a member of one would result in the government’s labeling the person as a royalist, thus an enemy of the state.
6Ibid. The uncertainty of vocation these individuals felt in this era evokes the same uncertainty Ssuuna II’s subjects felt, which helps to explain the continued affinity for “Householder.”
Jessy Ssendawula remarks on how “Householder” suggests that poor leadership enables “snakes” of all sorts to damage the people. However, he focuses on the snake symbolizing the associates of the leader rather than the leader himself, stating:
The crimes that Ssuuna II’s brother committed against the residents of Kyebando are comparable to the many atrocities that officials who are close to the current president of Uganda commit. Many believe they are untouchable by the law. They argue and fight among themselves to the point where the president does not even bother stepping in to solve their disputes. Not even the pope appeases them. Like Ssuuna II, they remain unchecked and use their power to take money and land from others. All leaders should learn to discipline their constituents if they are looking to have a peaceful and harmonious rule. They should give respect to the property of the masses and uphold the law, regardless of their authority or relation to those who are in power.
7Ssendawula interview, December 28, 2019.By speaking on the behavior of associates as a crucial factor in the success of a leader, Ssendawula shares that “Householder” is not just a lamentation and criticism of the king but a commentary on all the individuals who were involved in his rule, including advisers, family, friends, and even his subjects at large. The scope of the song far exceeds what is immediately apparent from the lyrics. Even if “Householder” seems to be solely about the king, the song is really about leadership, and listeners can apply it to any relationship predicated on guidance that we encounter in everyday life.
8In Buganda, nnannyinimu is a title for both the king and the head of a household.Jimmy Ssenfuka Kibirige builds on these ideas in his interpretation, suggesting that the king was actually a victim of the referenced snake rather than being the snake. In this interpretation, the puff adder allegorizes the leader’s associates, and as a result the leader risks being labeled as a snake because of this connection. The masses may compare a leader with the puff adder if he remains too slow in responding to its poisonous presence. Kibirige further explains:
Titles such as householder (
nnannyinimu) and principal of authority (
nnannyini buyinza) are signifiers of authority, so the people who hold them are usually leaders. Many benefit from holding these titles, but some fail to realize they also come with responsibilities and challenges. In fact, misusing leadership positions can result in damaging repercussions. Every ill act that occurs during a leader’s term comes back to rest on their shoulders, as the lyric
“Whichever comes out bites me” (
Buli erifuluma libojjamu nze) poetically suggests. The venom from a snake’s bite also infects and endangers the house head himself. For example, the way the people he leads perceive his rule can shift for the worse. They may come to see the leader as a snake himself, spitting venom and slithering away while they, those who once supported him, lose their faith entirely in his ability to rule them. The subjects may shy away from him, unwilling to invite him to events or be in his presence. The puff adder is therefore a symbol of corruption and evil, particularly those that the house head causes or is associated with. As soon as the people spot it, they try to dash it out with sticks and rocks. And yet, despite their fear of being associated with that snake, it often continues to survive.
9Kibirige interview, December 18, 2019.Kibirige’s interpretation gives new life to this serpentine imagery, as the puff adder becomes intertwined with notions of corruption and greed. It exceeds its own meaning to take on a new one, a fusion of forms that results in powerful and fresh imagery for relating to the situation at hand.
Continuing with the song’s connections and relevance to the twenty-first century, John Magandaazi Kityo’s analysis of the lyric “The puff adder snake bit me and left me with a scar” reveals that it is primarily about anger and violence. Kityo says, “The puff adder symbolizes violence while the scar represents anger. In contemporary politics, the damage that violence and anger cause is apparent. The masses are usually ill-equipped to either constructively work through their anger or to defend themselves properly when their leaders turn violent.”
10Kityo interview, December 14, 2019. Kityo connects the puff adder metaphor to contemporary violence and anger. In this way he reveals how the message of “Householder” might symbolize a particular kind of relationship rather than a situation. As with every other interpretation that we have seen, Kityo’s analysis generalizes the song to apply it to a more philosophical understanding of conflict with a theoretical tilt. This analysis reveals how “Householder,” or any song, might embody theory by way of interpretation.
Steven Mukasa Kabugo concludes the analysis of “Householder” in contemporary context by reminding the common people of the dangers that can potentially arise when dealing with a leader.
For as much as the song derides Ssuuna II, his musicians waited to compose and perform it until after his death, a time when they were safe from the most severe repercussions. Therefore, it is valuable for people to be cautious around leaders and to obey them. Even when leadership creates undesirable situations that push their subjects into corners, the people are tasked with bearing them, remaining calm, and accepting the larger forces at play. Some leaders, like the puff adder, are fierce and quick to anger. Ssuuna II’s musicians conveyed this sentiment but disguised their meaning to avoid offending him. The lyric “But whoever relieves me of it, I will even give money” was a treasonous statement, but they disguised its sentiments using figurative language. The song teaches listeners to be cautious of those who are in positions of authority or those who possess more power than we do. It does not just serve as a lesson to people who lived during times when kings could execute subjects who offended them. It is a message pertinent to the current political atmosphere. When a householder instructs you to do something, you should obey, act accordingly, and fulfill his wishes. Otherwise, he might finish you off, as we see in the lyric “What has finished the goats in Kyebando is the puff adder of Wamala, Nnabulagala.”
11Kabugo interview, December 19, 2019.Kabugo reveals how interpretation can also shift the way we understand subtly conveyed meanings in a song. He returns to this notion of subtlety discussed in previous chapters, articulating the importance of indirectness when it comes to criticizing the king or any other leader. This perspective provides an alternative purpose for the allegory we find in “Householder.” Where other interviewees focused on the puff adder’s possible meaning, Kabugo remarks that the snake is truly a clever allegory that might not provoke a leader to react because the ridicule operates at such a subliminal level. In this sense, integrating mourning into ridicule can be an effective way to indirectly criticize political malpractice.