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Rwanda
-- Ethnic
Groups
The
original
inhabitants
of Rwanda
were the
Batwa. The
Batwa continue
to live
as hunter/gathers
in the north
of the country,
but constitute
less than
1% of the
total population.
About the
early 14th
century
the Bahutu
farmers,
who belong
to the Bantu
group, came
to the country
andimposed
their language
and customs
on the indigenous
inhabitants.
Theyestablished
a socio-economic
system based
on small-scale
agriculture
and pettykings
called bahinza.
Their connection
with the
soil is
amply illustrated
by the fact
that bahinza
means `those
who cause
things to
grow,' illustrating
strong connections
between
the political
and the
agricultural.
The Batutsi,
who are
descendants
of a herding
people,
arrived
from the
north in
the 15th
and 16th
centuries
and established
traditional
political
domination
based on
monarchy
in the area.
Some scholars
have drawn
connections
between
the Tutsi
and the
Maasi, the
Oromo of
Ethiopia,
the descendants
of the Biblical
Ham, and
even the
ancient
Egyptians.
Under Tutsi
rule, ownership
of land
was the
sole prerogative
of the Tutsi
king, the
Mwami. The
relationship
between
the Tutsi
and Hutu
developed
into a patron-client
contract
known as
ubuhake,
an unequal
agreement
whereby
the Hutu
gained use
of Tutsi
cattle and
their products
in return
for labor
and military
service.
The power
of the Mwami
was reinforced
by a myth
of divine
origin.
In the late
19th century
the Mwami
Kigeri II
expanded
the borders
of his kingdom,
which survived
until the
Germans
arrived
in 1894.
Tutsi control
was strongest
in the areas
around Nyanza,
though the
Hutu continued
to control
some areas
in the northwest.
The structure
of the Tutsi
monarchical
system was
set up in
the 1800s,
consisting
of a hierarchy
of chiefs
and sub-chiefs
with the
Mwami at
the apex
of the pyramid.
The lowest
unit was
the umusozi
or hill.
The Hima,
a small
tribe of
Nilotic
nomads,
continue
to make
their livelihood
traveling
through
the northern
and northeastern
portions
of Rwanda.
Source:
Taylor,
C.C. 1995.
Rwandans.
In Worldmark
Encyclopedia
of Cultures
and Daily
Life.
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