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xi acknowledgments To a large degree this work is a product of research pursued in Rwanda between 1957 and 1962 as part of a large-scale endeavor to collect together the genre of historical tales known as ibitéekerezo. The research was carried out under the auspices of IRSAC (the Institute for Scientific Research in Central Africa). I therefore not only want to thank hundreds of storytellers for their participation in this project and to commemorate the role of the institute in this project, but also to recall the memory and the devotion to their task of those Rwandans who were members of this research team. Among them Alexis Mumvaneza stands out especially since one of his contributions was to report the set of archaeological sites around Dahwe that have proved to be of such importance for the early history of the country. This study has benefited from the assistance of several of my colleagues . Pride of place goes here to Catherine and David Newbury for their valuable, detailed commentaries on a first draft of this text and for the copy of the inquiries of Ivan Reisdorff that they gave me. I also particularly appreciate the input of Michele Wagner who read and annotated a good part of the text despite her heavy workload. As for David Henige, that virtuoso in the study of the rules of evidence, he became more than once the laboratory where I could try out various interpretations of rather slender data. In addition he took great pains to locate various publications for me. Other colleagues have also helped me to find documents and given their opinion on specific issues. René Lemarchand asked me some challenging questions, drew attention to several important documents, and sent me a copy of an important report by Léon Classe. Beatrix Heintze encouraged me and mailed me copies of several rare publications. I must also thank Gerda Rossel, Alain Froment , and Henri Médart for their advice and texts. Although I have not always made the opinions proffered by these scholars my own, still sometimes they did change my own views and they have always helped me in presenting my ideas in a more convincing manner. To all of you, heartfelt thanks! ...

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