NAMING THE GORILLAS OF RUHENGERI RWANDA
There is one in every family. For the Amahoro family, a - called Ghahinga is the “black sheep” in one of the last surviving families of the rare mountain gorillas of Central Africa.
Ghahinga and his family occupy a very human space amidst the misty green shrubbery that clings like a sixties Afro hairstyle on the Volcanic hills of the Virunga mountain range which straddles the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and DRC.
Game rangers and conservationists who track the gorillas daily for curious visitors often travelling as families themselves, named Ghahinga.
Amahoro means peace but Ghahinga is the naughty one. Gorilla naming, which in Kinyarwanda is known as Kwita Izina has been turned into a worldwide conservation event in Rwanda by two friends of mine, Rosette and Henry Rugamba both formerly careerists in Uganda who have settled in Kigali.
Last year, movie stars like Natalie Portman (who is rumoured to be filming in Rwanda) attended the ceremonies in honour of these not-so-distant human cousins. This year’s Kwita Izina, hosted a conservation conference and a charity concert by west African music star, Oliver Ngoma.
In August Rob Walton, the head of Wal-Mart, once the world’s largest retailer, is coming to Rwanda and may well go see Ghahinga. While a colourful rack of events accompanies the Kwita Izina, the gorilla naming itself is where it comes together. The rangers often name the newborns, but often, other people are invited to offer names, the way one invites friends to propose a name for a child.
“It allows tourists to get to know the individual gorilla and track him. Some of the ones who have fallen to poachers are still being looked for because we know them and call them by their names,” a tracker explained to me.
If mountain gorillas are a common human heritage, visiting them is as personal as the unique nose prints (equivalent to the fingerprint) that identify each individual of the 700 or so remaining ones.
The journey to the Virunga massive as this tri-country mountain home of the gorillas is known started as a normal coffee-powered news day at the Daily Monitor where newsmakers tend to be the usual suspects.
Less than 14 hours, after a ride through the smoky motoring jungle of Kampala's roads, a 35 minute flight to Kanobe Airport, and a two-hour jeep ride to the Volcano National Park, visitors are exposed to the cold air, looking down at the potato filled gardens of Ruhengeri, trying to stay calm about the visit to see Ghahinga and his family.
The drive up to the boundary of the park is bumpy but little children, obviously accustomed now to visiting tourists, left the side of their parents, many in their well laid out gardens and ran towards waving and shouting, “Bonjour, bonjour!”
There is a stone boundary, chipped away at the point of entry into the park was meant to keep away buffaloes from the village and the villagers away from the forest.
Buffalo excrement on the pathways, the stinging nettle – a plant whose touch is like a corrosive chemical – and the extremely physical march up and down the hills through bush to the location of the gorillas are just some of the few distractions one has to put up with.
A group of visitors (only eight are allowed to visit) were joined by some “porters” to assist with carrying bags, an armed soldier (a precaution against poachers and errant buffaloes) and two guides.
Much of the Gorilla trek is mainly a nature walk, the radio call crackling kept in touch with the trackers over the exact location of the gorillas.
Gorillas are nervous about sticks because they recognise them as spears used by poachers. Water bottles are also not allowed in case they get curious.
“Turn off the flashes on your cameras. The family may get nervous about that and charge.
The Amahoro family despite its name (Amahoro means peace) was born out of strife. Before, they were a larger family known as Omubano. But three silverbacks proved to be too much of a crowd.
A fight ensued and the head of the Amahoro left with a “few females” to start his family after one of his feuding brothers died. Ironically Omubano means “unity” making this family history a large contrast with its names.
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