On Sunday, February 1, Rwandans will mark the Heroes Day.

There are known national heroes who are celebrated for various outstanding accomplishments.

But there are also the unsung heroes, the ordinary folk that continue to work so hard to make Rwanda and the world a better place.

Everyone loves to be a hero or at least to be seen as such. Indeed, in most cases, the word hero has been used in a manner that sometimes leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

We love to read and draw inspiration from stories about heroes, those we admire for their bravery and courage in the face of adversity.

In Rwanda, there are many such stories. Some are fictional, while others are based on real life experiences.

Ndabaga is one of them. Ndabaga is not just a story; it’s a name of one of the most renowned brave youths in this country’s recorded history. It’s a heartwarming story and personality.

Ndabaga was a young ordinary girl.

Some historians say Ndabaga lived sometime in the eighteenth century.

While some believe that she was the only child, others say that she was actually among the youngest daughters of her father but had no brother.

Some literature say she was the daughter of a man only identified as Nyamutezi who lived in Bwishaza, in the current day Karongi District. It remains unclear under whose reign did Ndabaga or her father live.

But historians and culture enthusiasts all agree that Ndabaga was a heroine during her time and that her story still continues to inspire many to date.

Indeed, today there are associations and initiatives that have been named after Ndabaga.

Appolinaire Muvunanyambo, the vice president of Inteko Izirikana, an association of senior citizens dedicated to the promotion of the Rwandan culture, says the story of Ndabaga is one of the most fascinating narratives.

He says Ndabaga drew courage from challenging circumstances. "Those days, some men, especially chiefs or sub-chiefs, used to go the King’s Palace to camp there for months, or years. Some of them were part of the army of the King and would, from time to time, go on the battlefield,” he explained.

Muvunanyambo said: "Even during peacetime, no one wished to leave as everyone liked to be around the King to avoid situations where your enemies could speak ill of you at the palace, which could land you in trouble.”

For one to leave the palace and return home, the senior citizen said, they would leave behind their son as their cover, whether during royal functions, in the battlefield, or routine engagements at the palace. "So you basically needed someone to cover your back whenever you felt that you had no strength to carry on or needed to go home for whatever reason.”

Ndabaga grew up without knowing her father as he had spent years at the King’s palace seeing as he didn’t have a son to ‘redeem’ him, he added.

"She felt she could do something even when no girl or woman was supposed to replace their father in ‘Itorero’,” Muvunanyambo said, in reference to the group of men who were specially trained to "serve the nation” and spent extended periods away from their families.

To get her way around the established practice, Ndabaga trained herself to perform tasks that were reserved for boys during her formative years, eventually becoming so good she would outperform boys in masculine tasks.

When Ndabaga felt that she was ready to replace her father, she headed to the palace and, after identifying and informing him of her mission, she convinced him to leave her behind and return home to rest as he was growing frail.

Maria Yohana Mukankuranga, a legendary folk singer, is one of those who draws inspiration from Ndabaga. In an interview with Women Today, she spoke of her admiration for Ndabaga, saying that her story remains as inspiring generations later.

"It’s amazing how Ndabaga, on learning about her father’s predicament, decided to train herself in many physical skills, as though she was a boy, and eventually became as strong and adept as her male counterparts,” she said.

"She took herself through a series of physical training from jumping fences to shooting and fighting as boys did.

She was so committed she would eventually replace her father so much she had to seek traditional services to press down her breasts so no one recognised her real gender when she finally went to the palace.”

Mukankuranga added, "Her mother only prayed to God to help her endeavours but wondered how her daughter would reach her goal. When Ndabaga was ready and had managed to convince her father, she was presented to the King and everyone else at the palace and she immediately impressed in several tasks and assignments.”

Ndabaga, having grasped all the warrior skills, impressed the King so much he asked her to be a leader of her "peers”.

Some of the men, however, later started to doubt Ndabaga’s supposed gender since even as she was excelling in various tasks.

"Even as she was a typical Intore (specially trained to serve nation) and warrior, she had favour around her just like women or girls…everyone started asking questions,” Muvunanyambo told Women Today.

Mukankuranga added, "There were some clues that suggested she was probably not a boy …for instance, some boys and men started wondering why she never bathed with them and always dressed up in private.”

Soon, word reached the King that Ndabaga may not be a boy after all.

The king decided to find out if Ndabaga was indeed a man or not. He challenged her to wrestling sessions for several days but nobody defeated her.

But when the rumour persisted, the King, asked her straight out if she was a man or not.

Ultimately, she admitted she was a girl and explained that her actions were only aimed at ridding her family of shame.

The king was surprised and impressed at the same time, so much that he decided to marry Ndabaga.

Touched by Ndabaga’s actions, the King decided that everyone in Itorero at the palace be returned to their loved ones, coining a now famous saying, "Ibintu byageze iwa Ndabaga’ (the situation has become so dire that women or girls are now posing as men to save the situation).

Since then, the saying ‘Ibintu byageze iwa Ndabaga’ is used to describe a very desperate situation that requires very desperate measures, often from least expected sources.

In modern Rwanda, Ndabaga continues to inspire many.

But Muvunanyambo says you don’t need to do extraordinary things to walk in the footsteps of Ndabaga. "She was an ordinary girl and what she did was considered routine duties for boys and men at the time. You can be a Ndabaga by pursuing excellence in whatever you do, however ordinary it may look.

"You don’t need to join the military or to be identified and recognised at the national level as a hero to become a hero in your own way, you can do heroic actions in whatever you are doing, whether a man or woman,” he added.

Last year, a fashion show named after Ndabaga, "Ndabaga Pan-African Fashion”, was organised and those behind it say they want to inculcate the values that Ndabaga stood for among the youth.

But it is the association of ex-combatants, Ndabaga association, which has truly carried the heroine’s legacy on.

The association was created in 2001 by female former combatants with the aim of building a new life for themselves after the war.

Jane Muberanyana, the national coordinator, explains: "The association helps ex-combatants in various aspects of their lives; it helps members create job opportunities for themselves and fight poverty.”

Muberanyana says most members are uneducated and have difficulties in finding employment, leaving them with limited sources of income.

She, however, says that the association has goals which will help reduce the obstacles and challenges they face."Given the size of our association we are planning to find ways to increase our funds so that we can reach out to a bigger percentage of our members. We need to put more efforts in making cooperatives,” she adds.

Jean D’arc Mukarunyange, a 52-year-old resident of Gikondo, joined the association in 2002. She appreciates the association for the great transformation it has made to her life.

"We are women who fought for our country, we brought ourselves together because we wanted peace for our country and this has helped us in a lot of ways. When a country has just experienced war, there is always abject poverty, it is part of the reason we decided to come together so that we develop ourselves, which encouraged the government to support us,” Mukarunyange says.

Donatilla Mukantabera, one of the founders of the association and a resident of Rulindo District, says they started the Ndabaga association so they could leverage on the collective effort as they reintegrated into civilian life.

"In our respective districts, we have managed to create businesses and made money that has made us grow further.”

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Rwanda’s celebrated heroines

Agathe Uwilingiyimana – Also known as Madame Agathe, she was a Rwandan political figure. She served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from July 18, 1993 until her death on April 7, 1994. She was assassinated during the opening stages of the Genocide, just moments after the downing of a presidential plane in which then President Juvenal Habyarimana was killed – an attack blamed on extremists within the ruling elite. She was Rwanda’s first prime minister and had increasingly spoken out against the injustices and, later, acts of genocide by, Habyarimana’s regime. 

Inyange Girls – The six schoolgirls of Nyange secondary school were killed by Interahamwe and ex-FAR insurgents when the infiltrators attacked their school on March 18, 1997. The teenagers were killed in cold blood after they rejected the assailants’ orders to separate themselves along ethnic lines, famously telling the attackers "Turi Abanyarwanda”.Félicité Niyitegeka - Until her death two decades ago, she was just an ordinary Rwandan woman. Niyitegeka is one of the more than a million Rwandans killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Yet she was not among those primarily targeted during the Genocide; she was killed because she stood up to the killers in order to save a life. Niyitegeka, born in 1934, was killed by the genocidal Interahamwe militia on April 21, after she rejected to turn away more than 30 Tutsi refugees at Centre Saint Pierre in Gisenyi, where she was working and staying. Like the Nyange schoolgirls, she put her own life on the line and paid the ultimate price and is among the heroes the country will be honouring on February 1.

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I say: What can women learn from Ndabaga?

Sibomana William

In Ndabaga we see a true hero, a trailblazer. She showed selflessness and proved that everything is possible regardless of one’s sex. Young women of today have a lot of lessons to learn from the Ndabaga story, especially those who have low self-esteem; they should know that they are capable of anything. They should seek to identify with Ndabaga’s acts and to walk in her footsteps because hers is not just a story, but humbling real life experience.

Vincent Sekka

Ndabaga’s story brings out the perfect picture of gender equality. Women, especially young girls, should have confidence in themselves just like Ndabaga. She knew she could redeem her father regardless of her gender and indeed won her father’s pride. Women and men are equally capable of great achievements.

Paul Tushabe

What an inspiring story…. especially for young women and girls; most girls think that they are not as capable as their male counterparts but Ndabaga’s story will prove them wrong. Thanks to her it became clear that, with commitment and courage, women are just as good fighters as us men; this should serve as an example to all the girls and women of this generation.

Maureen Sanyu

Women can learn a lot from Ndabaga; the fact that she had courage in her to go to the battlefield, something no woman in Rwanda had done before her, at least according to documented history, is simply humbling. That she had to go to the extent of disguising herself as a man just to stand in the gap and take away a disgrace from her father and family is an act of heroism. That’s all down to her believing in herself and daring to go against the orthodoxy. She’s a great example to us all.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw