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Rantre Pèp Ginen an rantre Ayiti pa fè yo bliye ansyen ewo yo. Afriken ann Ayiti te konn rakonte istwa sou moun ki te enpòtan pou yo lè yo tap viv lakay yo, lan Ginen. Ann Ayiti, moun Nanchon Nago vin kontre ak moun ki soti  lan Wayom Kongo.  Chak pèp yo vin aprann istwa lòt.  Chante Kili Kili a se yon chante ki ede moun konprann kijan Toni Malo lan Wayom Kongo te aji menm jan ak Oya Yanmsonn lan Wayom Nago.  Tou de se fi ki te batay pou defann peyi yo.

Se pou jan Oya Yanmsonn te konn mennen batay ki fè chante a rele l Ogou Yanmsonn.  Yanmsonn se yon fi lagè, yon militè tankou Ogou. Met sou sa, menm jan ak Ogou, li se moun Nago.   Nou gen dwa pwononse Oya Yanmsonn kòm Oya Yansan. Yansan se mo Nago pou nimewo 9.  Oya Yanmsonn (Yansan) vle di manman 9 pitit.  Apre lanmò l, moun vin konsidere l kòm Lwa ki patwon Larivyè Nijè ann Afrik. Li te marye ak Shango, yon ansyen wa ki te dirije Wayom Nago Oyo a pandan 12zyèm syèk la. Shango ak Ogou se de frè. Se paske Oya se fanmi Ogou menm kifè ann Ayiti nou konsidere l konm yon Lwa ki fanmi Ogou. Se pou sa tou li pote non Ogou Yanmsonn. Moun Nago wè Oya Yanmsonn kòm Lwa ki patwon chanjman. Se li ki lan kafou lavi ak lanmò. Li gen kontwòl sou chanjman ki mennen lapè apre lagè.

Kanta pou Toni Malo, li se yon fi ki te batay pou l rebati Wayom Kongo apre lagè Bwila an 1665 kote  Pòtigè yo te arive detui Wayom nan.  Apre lagè Bwila, Wayom Kongo kraze an miyèt moso epi chak pati vin sanse endepandan. Toni malo te eseye inifye diferan seksyon yo menm jan sa te ye lontan anvan lagè a.  Li  te batay pou chanjman ki te pou remet Kongo kanpe. Toni te batay pou l bay Kongo lavi. Se pou sa chante a wè l kòm menm kalite moun ak Oya Yanmson.

Se abitid Sèvitè met mo Nago lan chante ki onore moun Nago. Kòm chante sa a site non Oya Yanmsonn, yon moun Nanchon Nago, chante a sèvi ak pawòl Nago " Kili Kili " pou montre respè pou lang Oya Yanmsonn te konn pale lè li te vivan sou latè. Kili se mo Nago ki vle di kiyès.  Men, pou montre respè pou Toni Malo, yon moun Nanchon Kongo, chante a jwe sou rit Kongo.   Jwe chante a jwe sou rit Kongo a fè chante a klase kòm yon chante Petwo.

Byen-fè pa toujou jwenn bon rekonpans.  An Jiyè 1706, detwa pè Katolik mare konplo fè boule Toni Malo tou vivan poutèt li te kont mannigans Kretyen Pòtigè lan Kongo. Lè Toni Malo te konn pale an piblik, dènye mo li te toujou di se Santa Maria Gracia. Apre lanmò Toni Malo, kèlke fanatik li di yo te wè l parèt sou tèt yon pyebwa. Lan Kongo se sou tèt pyebwa espri te konn parèt pou fè mirak.  Abitid Kongo pa pèdi. Se pou sa lan mwa Jiyè 1849, moun ann Ayiti di yo wè Mari, manman Jezi, parèt sou tèt yon pye palmis bò Sodo. 

Nou chwazi rakonte istwa Toni Malo lan mwad Jiyè paske se mwa fèt Sodo. Fèt Sodo kòmanse ann Ayiti apre tranblenmantè 1842 a. Tranblemanntè  sa a paralize gouvènman Ayiti a jis rebèl arive rache bò lès peyi a epi Zile Ayiti vin fann an de peyi.   Kifè la a, Tranblemanntè 1842 fann Ayiti menm jan Lagè Bwila te fann Wayom Kongo. La a menm, sa pa dwe etone n pou n remake apre peyi n fi n kase an de, mirak fèt menm jan sa te fèt lan Kongo. Mari, manman Jezi, parèt soukonn Toni Malo, sou tèt yon pyebwa.   Kili Kili Malo...

When the African people came to Haiti they looked back and shared stories about the heroes of their homeland. They shared stories with people who otherwise would not have heard these stories because in Africa they were separated by too great a distance. For example, the Nago people met those of the Kongo Kingdoms and in all likelihood, they learned of each other's  history. The Kili Kili song teaches elements of African history by comparing Toni Malo of the Kongo with Yanmson of the Nago people. Both characters are recognized as women who played a great role in the defense of their respective kingdom.

The song refers to Yanmsonn  as being from the Ogou family because like Ogou, Yanmsonn was born in the Nago Oyo Kingdom.  Her full name is Oya Yansan (commonly prounouned as Yanmsonn) meaning mother of nine.  Following her death, she became the patron Lwa of the Niger river because that river has 9 tributaries. She was the wife of Shango who ruled the Nago Oyo Kingdom in the 12th century.   Shango was the brother of Ogou. Yanmsonn is known to have been a warrior.  Indeed she was a relative of Ogou. This is why in Haiti she is considered to be in the Ogou family of Lwas. Ogou Yanmsonn is  also associated with transitions.  She is the Nago Lwa that guards the gate between life and the afterlife. She is the warrior that controls the transition from warfare to peace.

The song equates Yanmson to Malo  because  Toni Malo was a woman who sought to lead the Kongo Kingdom out from the state of internal turmoil that ensued after King Antonio of the Kongo lost to Portuguese forces at the battle of Bwila in 1665.  Following this war, the Kongo Kingdom broke into numerous fragments ruled by independent rulers.  Toni Malo fought to reunite  the Kongo Kingdom into the glorious nation that it once was.  It is because Toni Malo fought to bring stability back to the Kongo  that she is compared to Oya Yanmson, the female Nago warrior responsible for transitions.

As is common in Haitian Vodou songs, Nago words are used to honor a Nago Ancestor. The Nago word "Kili "meaning  "who" is used because Ogou Yanmson (Oya Yansan) was once a Nago speaking person before passing away to become a Lwa.  Overall, the song is sung to remind us of how Malo of the Kongo is like Oya Yanmson of the Nago people. Since the song is meant to inform us about Toni Malo of the Kongo, when sung, it is accompanied by a Kongo beat, placing it in the Petwo division of Haitian songs.  

Unfortunately, Toni Malo was killed in July of 1706 by several Catholic Priests because of her opposition to the destabilizing activities of Portuguese Christians  in the Kongo. Whenever Toni Malo spoke publically, she always ended her speech by saying Santa Maria Gracia. Following  her death, her followers reported that she appeared on top of a tree.  Appearances on top of trees was one of the ways that miracles took place in the Kongo. This is the reason why the Haitian people reported in the month of July 1849  that they saw a woman, Mary, appear on top of a palm tree at Sodo. 

We selected to recount the story of Tony Malo in July because this month marks the anniversary of Sodo. Celebrations at Sodo began after the earthquake of 1842 that destabilized the Haitian government , and led to the eastern side of the country seceding from the union of Haiti. The 1842 earthquake fractured  Haiti like the battle of Bwila fractured the Kongo. It is no surprise then that at such moments of national distress that the Virgin Mary would make an appearance in Toni Malo fashion.   Kili Kili Malo...