13
“The Flutists’ Legal Case”
Lament and Uncertainty
Written by grieving musicians, the song “The Flutists’ Legal Case” (“Omusango gw’Abalere”) laments the court flutists whom King Ssuuna II (r. ca. 1824–1854) removed from duty for disrespectful behavior. The following context of the song was relayed by Albert Muwanga Ssempeke (ca. 1930–2006), who also performed the rendering examined in this chapter.
The musicians composed the song following their dismissal from the court. Although the king had an exclusive passion for the flute and its music, he would expel his flutists as a form of punishment after one of them had an affair with a princess. This act was taboo, since the musician was a non-royal. In this song’s context, after the ensemble’s expulsion, they returned to their home village, Kalungu, Bbira. But when King Ssuuna II (r. ca. 1824–1854) passed away, his son and heir to the throne, King Muteesa I (r. ca. 1856–1884), immediately inquired about the flutists who had previously performed for his father and why they were missing from the court. His officials explained to him that Ssuuna II had dismissed them for committing a crime, but they never specified it. Because of Muteesa I’s passion for flute music, he ordered that the flute and drum ensemble members return to the court, and as soon as they arrived, he asked them to perform for him. They performed “The Flutists’ Legal Case.” Fearing that Muteesa I might reopen the case about why his father dismissed them, the flutists substituted the phrase
Omusango gw’abalere gwegaludde, bantwale e Bbira gye banzaala (The flutists’ legal case has resurfaced, they should take me to Bbira, my birthplace) with the line
Nze ndigenda n’abalere ab’e Kalungu, bantwale e Bbira gye banzaala (I will go with the flutists of Kalungu, they should take me to Bbira, my birthplace). After the musicians finished performing for the king, he asked them to interpret the lyrics of the tune. In their response, they told him that the statement “I will go with the flutists of Kalungu” expressed that he had chosen them as his personal flutists. The amused king accepted the performers back into the court as the official flutists.
1Ssempeke interview, July 27, 2005.“Birthplace” means the singer’s ancestral home. Stressing the themes of lament and uncertainty, “The Flutists’ Legal Case” depicts the sorrow of court musicians encountering the reality of death for the first time. They are lost in thought, as they contemplate missed opportunities, their past, as well as the lonesomeness they are facing. By using the line “I will go with the flutists of Kalungu” instead of “The flutists’ legal case has resurfaced,” the original lyric, the flutists change the song’s meaning to reflect the forgiveness and clemency that the king has given. This transformation shows how the song itself becomes an expression of the situations it describes. At one time, it speaks to the tragedy of experiencing the king’s punishments, embodied by fears of death, and regrets over one’s lack of kin. But in the court performers’ revised rendition, per its historical context, it comes to represent the musicians’ redemption from that state, signified by their long-delayed return to the court. In this way, the song becomes a conduit for the contexts that it represents, not only acting as a static depiction of the initial action but also functioning as a living and changing double of the event at hand. The song changes with the flutists, the court, and the world at large. This point is crucial to the themes illuminated throughout this chapter as well as to our exploration of the ways in which “The Flutists’ Legal Case” continues to come alive with today’s stories and conceptions.
Ssempeke sings the “The Flutists’ Legal Case” to the accompaniment of a Kiganda bow harp (ennanga). His performance commences with the instrumental part, which includes two subparts plucked by the right and left hands’ thumbs and index fingers. The two parts interlock, producing a complex web of buzzing sound. As the instrumental continues, the vocals enter to deliver a sequence of similar melodies, each one starting at generally a high range and then descending into lower notes. While the instrumental part sounds more improvisational and spontaneous, the vocals rely on frequently repeating lines and phrases. The tone of the song’s lyrics reflects grief and regret, among other themes; one can hear the resounding lament in the performance’s overall sonic qualities as Ssempeke sings the following lyrics:
1 Anti omusango gw’abalere gwegaludde, bantwale e Bbira
Because the flutists’ legal case has resurfaced, they should take me to Bbira
2 Nze nno mpimaapima eddiiro, linsobedde, bwe nsituka nzirawo
I am imagining the size of the living room, I am baffled, restlessly I get up as I get back down
3 Gubadde gutya?
What is the matter?
4 Ow’omukwano, bantwale e Bbira gye banzaala
My dear, they should take me to Bbira, my birthplace
5 Agalifa sizadde nze, bwe ndifa ndigenderera
As I am to die childless, when I pass away, I shall perish
6 Agalifa sizadde nze, bwe ndifa ndigenderera
As I am childless, when I pass away, I shall perish
7 Wambwa alekerera entujjo n’azina entoli
Mr. Dog ignores the drumbeat or pulse and dances to the finger snaps
8 Naawe omukulu ow’ennimi onoolyanga ky’olaba
And you, the principal of tongues, you will always eat what you see
9 Bwe ntunuulira taata gye yagenda, amaziga gakunkumuka
When I look at where father was buried, tears stream down
10 Bwe ntunuulira mmange gye yagenda, amaziga gakunkumuka
When I look at where my mother was buried, tears stream down
11 Agalifa sizadde nze, bwe ndifa ndigenderera
As I am to die childless, when I pass away, I shall perish
12 Wambwa alekerera entujjo n’azina entoli
Mr. Dog ignores the pulse or drumbeat and dances to the finger snaps
13 Aaaa munnange, linsobedde, bantwale e Bbira
No, my dear, the living room has puzzled me, they should take me to Bbira
14 Lino eddiiro linsobedde, bwe nsituka nzirawo
This living room has perplexed me, restlessly I get up as I get back down
15 Nange ndigenda bwomu, nze, eby’okufa bigenderera
Even I, shall go alone, death takes away completely
16 Ate ndigenda bannange
And I shall go, my dears
17 Ssanja eribikka bannaffe, lye bababuza obusolo
Dry banana leaves that cover our fellows, are the same used to roast animals
18 Ssanja eribikka bannaffe, abayizzi lye bababuza obusolo
Dry banana leaves that cover our fellows, are the same hunters use to roast animals
19 Aaaa munnange, linsobedde, bantwale e Bbira
No, my dear, the living room has puzzled me, they should take me to Bbira
20 Gubadde gutya?
What is the matter?
21 Anti omusango gw’abalere gwegaludde, bantwale e Bbira
Because the flutists’ legal case has resurfaced, they should take me to Bbira
22 Anti omusango gw’abalere gunsobedde, bantwale e Bbira
Because the flutists’ legal case has puzzled me, they should take me to Bbira
23 Gubadde gutya?
What is the matter?
24 Omukulu ow’ennimi, onoolyanga ky’olaba
The principal of tongues, you will always eat what you see
25 Anti, Mukasa ow’e Zzinga
You see, Mukasa of Zzinga
26 Nange ndigenda bwomu nze
Even I, shall go in solitude
27 Ssanja eribikka bannaffe, abayizzi lye bababuza obusolo
Dry banana leaves that cover our fellows, are the same hunters use to roast animals
28 Anti eribikka bannaffe, abayizzi lye bababuza obusolo
Because those which cover our fellows, are the same hunters use to roast animals
29 Gubadde gutya?
What is the matter?
30 Maama linsobedde, bantwale e Bbira, omulongo, baze
Surely, it has baffled me, let me be taken to Bbira, the twin, my husband
“The Flutists’ Legal Case” as sung by Ssempeke describes the fear and shock of death in terms of one’s own life and the life of another. It does so without providing a specific narrative, instead appearing to emulate the torrent of thoughts that might run through one’s mind upon contemplating one’s own death. The singer begins by speaking from the perspective of the deceased as he contemplates the life he is leaving behind. One significant lament of this persona is that he does not have a legacy to pass down, no child to extend his experience and desires (lines 5–6, and 11). He describes this absence of legacy differently from his individual death, framing it as extinction. By placing it in this broader conceptualization, the singer’s death becomes more than the absence of a heartbeat, as it interacts with the notion of existence itself. The song makes this delineation between death and extinction by relating it to kinship and memory, describing how the two might serve to prevent the former. This point goes beyond describing a symbolic effect of kinship, instead affirming its profound impact in human networks. In this vein, one might accept that death is less severe and final if some part of oneself lives on in another.
Expanding further on this notion of kinship, the singer describes how death forces one to go alone (lines 15 and 26), to leave behind the friends and family that one spent a lifetime caring for. This description and awareness does not diminish the pain that is inherent in death but instead acknowledges that while death may be preferable to total extinction, it is still a great isolation that seems nearly unbearable. This focus on lonesomeness also emphasizes connection over material wealth or ambition, as the song does not lament over the loss of riches or failure to achieve goals. Instead, it laments the loss of friends and family, earthly and human tethers.
Transitioning from the notion of kinship, “The Flutists’ Legal Case” also repeatedly depicts a dog who dances without an ear for rhythm (lines 7 and 12). The dog’s dancing also seems to reflect the way man lives, ignorant and innocent to the world, unseeing and unfeeling. This theme about Mr. Dog seems to represent some form of reprimand, evoking the importance of remaining mindful in any circumstance. It encourages listeners to tune in to the beat of the song and recognize that the world and individual existence are not separate but intricately woven and interconnected. Simply put, one must hear the beat, the rhythm of life and dance to it. Other lines that suggest reprimand include “And you, the principal of tongues, you will always eat what you see” (line 8) and its variation, “The principal of tongues, you will always eat what you see” (line 24). Both lyrics refer to telltales who repeat what they hear.
“The Flutists’ Legal Case” then transitions to the perspective of those who were once friends with the deceased. “Our fellows” (lines 17–18 and 27–28) means deceased friends. The song also describes the multiple uses of banana leaves for both funeral ceremonies and the preparation of small game (lines 17–18 and 27–28). In this way it speaks to the cyclic quality in life, using banana leaves as an allegory for the connection that life and death share. The banana leaves feed the fire that simultaneously consummates one’s death while also maintaining another’s life by preserving their food source. This circular quality is repeated in the line “This living room has perplexed me, restlessly I get up as I get back down” (line 14). Here, the singer refers to the place where he will be laid for viewing when he dies. He also becomes baffled by the apparent smallness of common life, as demonstrated by the futile repetition of standing and sitting. Furthermore, this line and its variation (line 2) are also a symptom of the singer’s confusion. He is unable to cope with his “room” and thus can do no more than repeatedly attempt to stand and repeatedly fail. In this way, the line becomes cyclic and tautological, simultaneously maintaining cause and effect.