14 “The Little Lion”

The historical context Ssempeke presents offers a listening guide for “The Little Lion” and its meanings and alludes to the court musicians’ roles as advisers to the king and his subjects, whom, per the performer’s comments, the song indirectly advises to handle the king carefully so they can obtain good things from him. Accordingly, the lyrical content of “The Little Lion” praises the figure of the little lion, an allusion that we can trace to King Muteesa I. However, even within the context of the song’s composition, the lion is a multivocal figure, one whose meanings vary. In a literal sense, the figure could represent the fabled animal that King Muteesa I owned during his kingship, allowing us to understand the song as a historical description. This framing, which portrays the lion as a real animal who is tamed and kept at Muteesa I’s court, has multiple implications. First, its position as a historical account means that it exemplifies a revival and reinterpretation of the past. Whereas historical methodologies often center on an obsessive desire to inscribe the past as frozen, linear, and coherent, “The Little Lion” depicts the past as colorful and alive, changing with each instance of performance and with each moment of interpretation. The lion, rather than being an anecdote of Muteesa I’s rule, comes to life in the lyrics of the song, dancing atop the rhythms and melodies that the performer weaves. As a result, this lively depiction becomes flexible, allowing the past to come alive and become reapplied in or relevant to the present.

Furthermore, the figure of the lion itself, in relation to the king, poses its own set of messages that we can recast. This literal representation is valuable because it provides another layer to the relation of lion and king explored in this chapter. Now we can see this relationship as more concrete, causing us to think about how the lion should be treated, why the king might have tamed him in the first place, and what to draw from his outburst and subsequent death at the hands of the king. Through a more figurative lens, the little lion may represent the king’s power, the relationship between a leader and his people, or the selfish hunger that seems to plague many global political systems today.

Ssempeke performs the lyrics of “The Little Lion” without instrumental accompaniment, singing a series of winding melodies that move abruptly between high and low registers. His lyrics flow swiftly in smooth succession, and his delivery style is somewhat conversational, shifting unpredictably. However, he generally sings with a movement and projection that is confident and tuneful. His voice has a spacious timbre that further portrays the little lion. Ssempeke sings,

The opening lyrics of “The Little Lion” describe a lion beloved by the singer and the Baganda people (lines 1–2). The performer shares how he wishes for the lion to be taken to the court to be fed, following which he expresses his gratitude to the lion (line 3). The musician states that he lacks the strength to speak and thus asks the listener to pay his salutations to the lion, whom he refers to as “the friend to all” (line 4). Later in the song, the singer addresses him as “the owner of authority,” the law maker (line 8) and “the one who loves me” (line 9). At the same time, the performer also expresses uncertainty, asking his ancestors about whom he should go with (line 6) and whom he should entreat (line 7). The singer quickly resolves his questioning, as he concludes that he will go with “the one who loves” him, implying that he will go with the lion (line 9).

The song’s depiction of the lion here heavily implies that he is a representation of the king. This is evident not only from the king’s preexisting association with the lion as a regal and powerful figure but also because “the lion” is one of his titles, along with various other names that the singer bestows on him. He describes him as “the owner of authority” (the law maker) in one instance, demonstrating that the little lion is not literally a lion but someone of high status, like the king. Furthermore, the sort of praise he provides to the little lion reflects the praise that singers afford the king in other, more direct allegories.

A peculiar aspect about this song is that although the Baganda refer to the king as “the lion of Buganda,” the performer never explicitly confirms that the lion figure is the king. Even with the line referring to the lion’s authority, one could interpret it as indeed talking about the animal. In this way the singer provides the song with a capacity for interpretation that draws on the imaginations of those who encounter it. Even if the lion clearly represents the king, one can interpret all the descriptors for it creatively to draw out varying meanings. The figure of the lion, being only an indirect reference to the king and kingship in general, is malleable in a way that a more specific allusion to the king could not be. This becomes clear in the various interpretations of “The Little Lion” presented in this chapter, as they all seem to have unique takes on what the song could be portraying.