A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award df the degree" Licence en Langue et littérature Anglaises"

This work at examining the thematic contents of selected rundi birth songs.
This is done by showing the place of the child and the image it gives to his/her mother in the traditional Burundi society. Our work examines the place that a child occupies in the minds of burundians and how a couple that cannot beget one is treated.Besides the child is taken as the hope for the perpetuation of the family:in him/her,parents are proud oftheir procreative power as this guarantees the union of marriage.
The problem is that the burundian culture remains encoded and does not let itself to be understood easly.
Consequently,not be able to decode the message through songs is to loose some members' characteristics in the society.

This research is based on the hypothesis that rundi birth songs convey varying messages that do not only celebrate the fertility of the couple and spare them from the stigma from the community but encourages them in their responsability of raising the child.
This is manifested in ceremonies with joy of welcoming the new baby in the family and congratulating the mother for escaping the dangers of child birth.The work concludes that a child to a burundian family is a source of pride as it gives the parents a sense of belonging and acceptance in the society.The child remains the source of happiness in the marital life and even in the whole family;and is welcomed through songs of jubilation.