Sketches and drama in Kinyarwanda

1Why a sketch, and why in Kinyarwanda?

A sketch, also called a skit, is a very short play: one scene or a few, usually between one and ten minutes long, with a small cast and one main idea. Schools use sketches at assemblies, club days and celebrations, because a short scene can make an audience laugh and think at the same time.

In this unit you will compose and perform a sketch in Kinyarwanda. Your audience understands every word, every joke and every proverb, and Kinyarwanda has a long tradition of performance: evening storytelling, praise poetry, song and dance, and, since 1999, the radio drama Urunana ("hand in hand"). Writing in your own language lets you use all of that richness.

2A sketch and a full play

3Drama in Rwandan tradition

Long before schools staged plays, Rwandans used the tools of drama:

• Storytelling at night (imigani miremire, long tales): the storyteller gives each character a voice and acts out what happens, and the listeners respond and laugh. That is character, voice and audience.
• Ibyivugo, heroic poems in which a speaker proclaims his own brave deeds, are performed with a proud voice, bold gestures and a strong stance. That is performance.
• Igitaramo, an evening gathering of songs, dances, poems and stories, with people seated around the performers. That is theatre, often in the round.
• Intore dance shows the pride and courage of warriors through choreographed movement, drums and song. That is character shown through the body.
• Radio drama such as Urunana tells stories through voices and sound alone.

4Words for drama in Kinyarwanda

Worked example: from a proverb to a sketch idea

A Kinyarwanda proverb (umugani mugufi) packs a whole message into one line, which makes it an excellent starting point for a sketch. Here is how one S1 group turned a traditional proverb into an idea.

1. Proverb: Akabando k'iminsi gacibwa kare. Word for word: "The walking stick for the days (to come) is cut early." Meaning: prepare today for what you will need tomorrow.
2. Theme (insanganyamatsiko): saving money.
3. Message (ubutumwa), in one sentence: "Save a little every day, and you will be ready when you need it."
4. Situation: two S1 friends at break time. Keza puts a coin in a small box every day; Gatete spends everything on mandazi. When the teacher announces a trip that costs 2,000 Frw, one of them is ready and the other is not.
5. Why it works: the audience knows the proverb, the situation happens in every school, and it needs only three actors and a few props: a small box, some coins and a bag of mandazi.

Other traditional proverbs that make good sketch themes:

5Language that suits a sketch

• Match the speaker. An elder may use proverbs and the respectful plural greeting Mwaramutse ("good morning"); young friends greet each other with Waramutse and speak in short, lively lines.
• Keep lines short. Short sentences are easier to learn, to say clearly and to hear from the back.
• Use humour kindly. Urwenya should laugh at a behaviour, never at a person, a region or a group.
• Mix languages only on purpose. A few English or French words can be funny if they belong to one character, such as a boy who wants to sound important. Used everywhere, they only confuse.

Practice