Kibogo (novel)

Kibogo

Author	Scholastique Mukasonga
Original title	Kibogo est monté au ciel
Translator	Mark Polizzotti
Language	French
Publication date	March 12, 2020
ISBN	9798212025683

Kibogo (French: Kibogo est monté au ciel) is a novel by Scholastique Mukasonga first published in 2020. The novel is told in four short, intertwined stories about the interaction between local beliefs and European Christianity in 1940s Rwanda.^[1][2][3]

The novel was originally written in French, although Kinyarwanda words are used extensively throughout the book. Mark Polizotti, the French to English translator, left in the Kinyarwanda words in his version.^[4]

This chapter describes the event of the "ruzagayura," a great famine, as the native Rwandans struggle with opposing solutions from the Christian missionaries and their pagan beliefs. The drought persists for a long time; it poisons the cassava, the young and elderly die, and some families flee to the nearby Congo.^[2]

The village priest explains they must climb the forbidden mountain, renounce their traditional religion, and the Virgin Mary will restore the rains. The Rwandans are unsure of this plan, so they visit their old sub-chief, who instructs them to visit the pagan priestess Mukamwezi, nicknamed "Mrs. Kibogo."

Mukamwezi reluctantly helps the Rwandans. She says that the spirit of Kibogo spoke to her and instructed them to climb the mountain, where he will return the rain. Five men and Mukamwezi ascend the mountain; journey is arduous. At the summit, she calls out to the rains and winds to return to Rwanda, and briefly transforms into a lion with the face of a human. The men are startled, and pull her away from the edge of the mountain. However, she is angry, and says she spoke to Kibogo and he instructed her to join her and he would release the rains.

Back in the town, the men attempt to conceal where they have been. One child claims he saw them dancing on the mountain top. Eventually, the ruzagyaura ends, and the rains return. The father gives a sermon at the church, where he thanks the Virgin Mary for her rains, and denounces anyone who may have used pagan rituals on the mountain. He announces that the king of Rwanda has converted and adopted a Christian name. Mukamwezi disappears, with various theories about where she may have gone.

Akayezu, literally "little Jesus," is a boy from the hillside who was chosen to attend seminary school to study the Bible.^[2] In grade school, Akayezu was not particularly bright. The missionaries said he was chosen because was because of an earlier occurrence, where young Akayezu stole a Latin Bible to read about the tales of Jesus, but was dismayed to discover it was in a language he couldn't read. This story had touched the Father, and he was later chosen to attend seminary.

Akayezu endeavored to evangelize the people of his hometown. He would preach every Sunday, to the disapproval of the Fathers, since he had not yet graduated and was taking away attendance from the church's Sunday mass. The Rwandans had many questions for him about life amongst the white people, such as what food he would eat and what would happen if there is another drought. So as to not offend the elders, Akayezu tells them Kibogo could arrive again to save them as needed. This enrages the Christian missionaries.

One day, in the middle of the night, Akayezu is woken up to baptize a stillborn baby girl, Angelina. He attends to the mother and child, creating his own holy water for the baptism. To everyone's surprise, the baby begins to cry. The women believe Akayezu has resurrected her himself, which he denies and credits the Virgin Mary.

Angelina's resurrection further enrages the missionaries, and he is expelled from the seminary school. His father, out of shame, forces him from the family enclosure. Akayezu goes to live in a hut in the woods, where his loyal followers, mainly women, continue visiting him for advice and blessings. They bring him food and tend to his house in return. Here, Akayezu eventually comes to the conclusion that the Bible really tells the story of the Rwandans, not the white men, and draws comparisons between Kibogo and Jesus Christ.^[2]

One day, Akayezu decided to baptize Mukamwezi.^[2] He travelled to her hut and waited outside for a long time, but she refused to see him. Eventually, she lets him in, and they remain in her hut for one month. Akayezu's female followers are distraught, fearing that she has possessed him.

They decide to save Akayezu from Mukamwezi's influence through various pagan methods, but their attempts fail. Later, some women are tending to Akayezu's hut. They leave an offering of sorghum beer, customary for the deceased. In the hut, they think they see a ghost, but are shocked to find Akayezu.

He reveals he has joined his spirit with Mukamwezi in a blood pact. Mukamwezi says that the Rwandans need a new king, and that Akayezu will rise to the heavens to find Kibogo and force him to return to the hillside. They tell the women that they cannot tell anyone, since the alcohol they drunk was poison that will kill them if they betray the secret.^[4]

A violent storm comes later that year and completely burns down the hut. No bodies for Akayezu or Mukamwezi are found, and the Rwandans eventually dismiss this tale. Some children decide one day to travel to the top of the hill out of curiosity. At the summit, surrounded in fog, they find an old Mukamwezi, who tells them on the day of the first storm, Akayezu ascended to heaven here. She tells them to tell everyone on the hillside that Akayezu will guide Kibogo to return and become the new ruler of Rwanda.

This chapter details the story of a European professor and his assistants who come to the hillside to interview the elders about the story of Kibogo. The professor decides he must venture up the mountain to investigate for himself. The group scours the mountainside for artifacts. One person discovers what looks like human bones. The professor begins to inspect them when a fog descends on the hilltop.

The Rwandans are fearful, believing it to be the curse of Kibogo, and convince the professor and his assistants to flee immediately. In the car, the professor asks how he can thank Kabwa, a boy who helped in his expedition. The boy asks to go to a school for white children.^[4]

Back in the hillside, the professor announces his departure. He says that his work will revolutionize the field of African studies, and he plans to return promptly. Some of his future plans include a recreation of Kibogo's hut as a tourist attraction, as well as school to train the youths. After he leaves, the Rwandans tease Kabwa for believing the white professor will come back for him at all.

Some time later, at church one of the Fathers announces they must pray for the professor and his assistants, who died in a plane crash out of Rwanda. The story ends with the question of who, Jesus or Kibogo, truly caused this disaster.

The book was reviewed in Publishers Weekly, which called it an "intriguing theological satire."^[5] A review in the Wall Street Journal praised Mukasonga's use of satire and dry humor.^[6] In The Guardian, Aminatta Forna described the novel as a "delightful and provocative miniature masterpiece", noting how the novel drew on traditions of oral storytelling.^[2]

• Finalist for National Book Award for Translated Literature^[7]