“The Villager in the Village”

Yes, the guy had decided to “sentence” himself to life with someone’s daughter and there was no prospect of “parole” or release in the near or distant future. After the cultural ceremony, we had to trek all the way to the City of Nyagatare to the Cathedral, where the “swearing in” was to be conducted. Having had to trek all the way from Matimba to Nyagatare (nearly 40km or so away), we arrived to find mass had already began. This reminded me of those olden days when we used to be real Catholics, not anymore! I used to be an Altar boy and the non-Catholics used to insult us that we were the padiri’s house boys! In spite of their insults, we never minded, who would? The padiris always rewarded us handsomely; whenever they travelled, they brought us back some clothes, shoes, etc. Maybe it was more out of envy than hatred, that they chose to insult us, a case of sour grapes eh! You know, as you begin growing up, then, you begin questioning and as you question more and more, you understand more and begin to doubt more and more. As kids, we looked upon the padiri with lots of awe and wonder, in our eyes, he was a real representative of God the Almighty; now, I see him as a human being like you and me. After what so many of them have been involved in, the much unchallenged respect has greatly waned. Both my Grandfather and father were so staunch Catholics such that, they would have never tolerated such stupid thought like I am expressing here, what could they do now? Not a thing, times have changed, four of my sisters have changed to the Pentecostal denomination, and here I am, the potential heir also having second thoughts! If the late Elvis Presley was here, he would have shed tears; he once sang “Wise Men say, Only Fools Rush In”. Surely, I once overheard a neighbour having a heated argument with his wife; she yelled at him that, “why did I marry you?” the guy yelled back, “too late, till death do us apart!” Now here we were witnessing someone swearing that, “Till death does us apart”! Though it may sound familiar, it evokes a sense of helplessness. They said their vows and we were done! The rest of the mass did not matter, what mattered was the swearing function and what waited us after that. When that was done, we set off for yet another village; the father of the groom had decided that, the reception be held at his home, not the likes of Kigali where such functions are always conducted at posh hotels like SERENA, Mille Collines, UMUBANO, etc. We drove for several minutes, as if heading to Rwampasha border point but only to deviate from that road to a remote village known as Kyenjonjo. Here, a big reception awaited us. There was a wide variety of eats and drinks, the ARMSTELS, Bell, Club, ESB Chairman, Senator and a host of beers plus Ikigaji, Urwagwa, umutobe and all tribes of Fantas (read sodas). This was typically, the villager in the village. Next time you don’t hear from me, I will have gone back to the village for keeps! mfashumwana@fastmail.fm