The First King of Rwanda and the Gorilla

A story is told of the first king of Rwanda, Gihanga. When Gihanga was establishing his kingdom, he entered the high mountain forests, the home of the Batwa and the mountain gorillas. A magnificent silverback gorilla, the leader of his family group, blocked his path. Gihanga, who knew the language of the animals, did not fight the gorilla. Instead, he sat down and spoke with him, acknowledging the gorilla as the true and original king of the forest. He made a pact with the gorilla: the king of men would rule the open hills, and the king of the forest would rule the mountains. They would not trespass on each other's domain or harm each other's children. This story explains the traditional respect shown to the gorilla (ingagi). It establishes a sacred kinship between the Rwandan monarchy and the leader of the gorillas, framing the Batwa's forest home as a sovereign kingdom that even the most powerful human kings must respect.