In the dusty part of Gasabo District, in Rutunga sector where Rwanda originated, is a beautiful, big, evergreen tree believed to be more than 300 years old. This tree, assumed to be a Cordia Africana, goes by many names such as ‘Icubya’, ‘Umuvugangoma’, ‘Ikigumbashi’ (barren tree), and ‘imana ya Nyakalima’ (god of Nyakalima). It is also known as ‘imana y’umuhigo’ (god of hunting) because hunters in this area would share what they all got at the end of the day under this same tree. Interestingly, it has also been believed for decades that whoever tries to cut it down goes mad or dies! This is probably linked to spiritual practices that were done under this tree for centuries, such as divination (kuragura), which makes it a sacred tree. Its story begins in the 17th century when Cyilima II Rujugira, who ruled Rwanda from 1675 to 1708, won against several kingdoms that had launched military expeditions against Rwanda at the same time. The reporter Glory Iribagiza poses for a photo near this magic tree in Gasabo After learning the plan of the four kingdoms; Ndorwa, Burundi, Bugesera and Gisaka, Rujugira used his army regiments under the names of Urukatsa, Imvejuru, Abadahemuka, Inyaruguru, Inyakare, Ababanda, Abakemba, Ababito, Intarindwa, and others, to defeat them. Nevertheless, Ndorwa unexpectedly captured Gasabo, and the king sent his son, Ndabarasa, to fight and liberate it, which he did. Around 1695 after its liberation, Rujugira ordered his son to live in Gasabo for its protection, and he planted a tree to mark the victory, under which locals hold village meetings from today. He named it ‘Icubya ricubya abanzi’ (that which deescalates enemies), and said the famous ‘Rwanda attacks, but never gets attacked’ line. “Those who call it Icubya say that it is because royal officials would come here to take good care of the ghosts through different spiritual rituals. It is something they did especially when their army went to the battle in order for them to win,” Andre Ntagwabira, a historian and Archaeology Research Specialist at Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy told The New Times. After Rujugira’s reign, this tree was very much valued in regards to spiritual rituals such as divination on kingdoms seeking to attack Rwanda and those which Rwanda eyed for military expeditions. Divination used to be an important practice in precolonial Rwanda, such that any decision people made, such as marriage, one would first make sure they visit a shrine first. A resident of Rutunga who said that Nyakalima, who used to practice divination under this tree is his uncle, explained to The New Times that his father who was born in 1917 told him the tree has been the same size and height in his childhood. “Even when I was little, in 1958, we used to enter its trunk when it rained. Some people used to build a fire around it, and as time passed, it would mend itself. The space in the trunk is so big that we would even put in our cows,” he said. The Gasabo based magic tree lies in Rutunga Sector .This tree, assumed to be a Cordia Africana, goes by many names such as ‘Icubya’, ‘Umuvugangoma’, ‘Ikigumbashi’ (barren tree), and ‘Imana ya Nyakalima’ (god of Nyakalima This was confirmed by Ntagwabira, who said that during their research, none of the elderly said that they ever saw this tree in a different size and shape than it is now. However, he explained that although most of Rwanda’s history was previously passed on orally, another version says that this tree may have grown from a stick Rujugira’s son who reigned as Kigeli III Ndabarasa threw there. While the stories may vary, this tree still carries the reverence, to the extent that even children do not climb it, and no one would dare cut it down. Besides being a meeting venue for the locals, this tree has attracted several tourists.
