Paper short abstract:

The paper reflects on the continuities and discontinuities produced by the genocidal episode in the world of Rwandan songs to explore people’s perceptions immediately after mass violence.

Paper long abstract:

Songs offer a precious window on the political and social transformations of Rwanda during the civil war and the genocide. The paper reflects on the continuities and discontinuities produced by the genocidal episode in the world of Rwandan songs to explore people’s perceptions immediately after mass violence. The paper fist analyses the song landscape as it existed prior to the war before moving on to an examination of the impact of the outbreak of the conflict in 1990. It shows that the politically volatile context in the early 1990s resulted in an unprecedented dynamism in the Rwandan music scene. The paper then focuses on the effects of the genocide on musical creativity and, conversely, on the role of music for people to navigate the immediate post-genocide era. In particular, we profile two emblematic singers who composed before and after the catastrophe. This biography-centered methodology allows us both to trace in detail the influence of the genocide on artistic interests and to grasp the ways in which the genocidal experience affected people. The paper shows that, before an official normalization of the memory had a chance to emerge, and in a context of disbelief at a horror that was inaccessible to the intellect, songs helped people to negotiate the transition between paralysis of shock and the beginning of a process of mourning. Artistic expression was also central to make sense of the annihilation of the social contract produced by the genocide. At the same time, songs reveal the ambiguity of forgiveness and reconciliation for many Rwandans despite the exhortation of the new, post-genocide government to embrace them.