Part IV
Songs about Loyalty and Duty
Mutual trust, allegiance, and dependability are some of the pillars of power relations that characterize bonds among people inside and outside the royal court in Buganda. Exploring themes of loyalty and duty within these relationships, part 4 explores notions of social debt and reciprocation in the contexts of kingship, national politics, and more proletarian relationships such as those between fellow musicians and family members. The songs express some of the emotions associated with bonds of loyalty in a variety of ways. Each song offers a nuanced glimpse at the inner workings of loyalty and duty in Buganda and Uganda as a whole. Chapter 12 uses the themes of regret and appreciation to frame its discussion of the song “I Would Have Given You a Large Haplochromis” (“Nandikuwadde Enkejje Entulumba”). This song describes the regret one of the king’s subjects felt when he was unable to meet the leader’s immediate need: offering him a haplochromis, which is a type of fish endemic to some African lakes. It broadly displays the regret that all people feel when unable to express their appreciation toward those who have positively affected their lives. Chapter 13 focuses on the themes of lament and uncertainty in the song “The Flutists’ Legal Case” (“Omusango gw’Abalere”), which laments court flutists whom the king removed from duty for disrespectful behavior. Capturing the more somber emotions attached to loyalty and duty, the two songs show us that loyalty has a negative side. Parties may experience lament, regret, loss, missed opportunities, personal failures, and other feelings or experiences that arise from our attachments to others. Although each of these songs explores separate topics and sentiments, their mournful subject matter and sorrowful tones unite them.
The two songs that close part 4 revolve around affection, respect, and subservience, all of which characterize the Baganda’s relationship to the king. Beyond the historical accounts and somber retellings of their lyrics, these songs illustrate loyalty through the various affirmations of power and reverence that different kings’ subjects (performers and commentators) articulate. Chapter 14 illustrates themes of power and selfishness in the song “The Little Lion” (“Akawologoma”), which effectively depicts the king, while also detailing the loyalty and obligations that his subjects display. Chapter 15 explores themes of reverence and love in the song “The King Is a Lion” (“Kabaka Mpologoma”), which portrays the Ugandan national government in relation to Buganda’s king and his right and duty to rule over his own people. Both songs use leonine imagery to outline the kingly aura and the sentiments he inspires in his people. The songs demonstrate a willing devotion toward the king’s rule, in addition to the mutuality of the relationship he shares with his subjects and how he reciprocates this love and exercises his power. In the various interpretations that are presented and analyzed in part 4, the lyrics of the songs become a collective dialogue about the contemporary government of Uganda and the relationships held between leaders and their people.
The four songs featured in part 4 are reminders that loyalty and duty permeate all types of relationships, as we see presented in the lyrics, commentaries, and interpretations. Loyalty does not just apply to bonds of friendship and family but typifies broader relationships, between a king and his people, and between a government and its citizens. It is a mutual acknowledgment, a two-way street where both sides of the relationship must exhibit attention and care for each other. As the four chapters of part 4 illustrate, many Baganda put their faith in their king and demonstrate their obedience, and the leader responds to this faithfulness by taking care of them and making the best decisions. The numerous connections that commentators draw on in their readings of the songs further confirm the universality of loyalty. They reimagine the relationships the songs deal with within today’s political contexts, applying concepts such as betrayal, attachment, and hardship in the compositions to contemporary situations. Accordingly, they highlight the problems within Uganda’s current government and the challenges of proper leadership in the twenty-first century. Through every interpretation, a new permutation of meaning is born, and the analyzed song becomes more significant than the sum of its individual parts.