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T he original version of this article was written in the wake of the terrible ethnic cleansing massacres in Rwanda in 1994. Similar events have occurred more recently involving the same ethnic animosities, with Tutsi-Hima ethnic groups in the series of civil war in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo).
For months, the shocking events in Rwanda have been daily on our TV screens, on our minds and in our prayers. How does such a thing happen? The news tells us there are two tribes who dislike each other, but how and why did this come about? What is happening in Rwanda illustrates a constant problem of cultural identity throughout the history of humanity and across the geography of the world.
Hutu and Tutsi
The shorter Hutu people were earlier inhabitants of the area now known as Rwanda and Burundi. They spoke a Bantu language, related to the others still known as Bantu, spoken over about two thirds of Africa south of the Sahara and by about two-thirds of the people groups. In the 1300s, a tall, thin Cushite people migrated into the area from the southern highlands of Ethiopia, coming as conquerors.
They came originally speaking a language related to Somali and Oromo. The Cushite descendants are known today by the name Tutsi.
The Tutsis were cattle-herding warriors, similar in culture to the famous Maasai, but from a different racial stock. They brought with them humpless cattle, new to the area. The Bantu people were farmers and fishers, though they also kept the Zebu cattle popular all over Africa, and common among the Bantu peoples.
The Cushite conquerors gradually settled into the local culture, adopted the local Bantu language, and merged generally with the Bantu Hutu. The language was changed, however, due to the culture and language of the conquerors, and it is through the many Cushite words and cultural indicators that much of the history has been clarified.
Hima
The name Hima is also associated with the Tutsis, and with regions in Western Tanzania and Southern. There are still groups of people called Hima in the region. Some students of history find the Hima name associated with another invading group of warrior-herders.
This group, called the Bacwezi (pronounced Bachwezi) in legends, seems to have originally come from Nilotic stock, migrating down the Nile River to the Lakes region. The name Hima is found in Ankole, Uganda, formerly a Bacwezi kingdom.
Over the centuries, the cultural and social situation of the Bacwezi and the Tutsi became similar and their associations grew. It appears they can be considered as one social group across the various languages and peoples of the region.
The sub-group of Tutsi in southern Burundi are called Hima, while the northern group are called Ruguru (Banyaruguru). The Tutsi in Uganda (refugees from earlier troubles in Burundi and Rwanda) are called Hima.
The languages of Burundi and Rwanda are linguistically considered dialects of the same language. They are much closer than Portuguese is to Spanish, a bit more different than British and North American English.
People in the neighboring areas speak related, but more distant, languages. These include Ha in Tanzania, Ganda and Kiga (Chiga, Ciga or Kyiga) in Uganda. The people who still call themselves Hima speak the Bantu language, but call it Hima.
Social History
Some sources have pointed out that these various peoples of diverse origin had lived together for centuries and that the conflicts between the classes or tribes known by the names "Tutsi" and "Hutu" have been fostered by the colonial powers, who ruled through a local elite. Some claim the colonial approach actually created the social or tribal distinction between "Hutu" and "Tutsi."
One correspondent wrote me on this question. Hima Beekha sent me an email indicating that she is a Hima/Tutsi, and gives some insights into the meaning of some of these terms. Hima says, "In my language tusi means 'jungle' or 'bush'." She informs us further, "hima means 'to tell something,' or 'the one who tells something'." She says the verb form nahimi (from the verb root hima) means "tell me."
Hima finally tells us, "According to my tradition or culture, if I am born in the bush, my name becomes tusi." This cultural insight may help us in determing the roots of the social distinctions that have now led to the two antagonistic social or racial (tribal) groupings in the region.
Another reader from the Oromo ethnic group in the Horn of Africa supports this perspective. Idris Muktar wrote me in July 2008 in the process of investigating the ties of his people with the Tutsi-Hima groups. He tells me, "Along time ago I used to hear that Tutsi of Rwanda/Burundi were descendants of the Oromo nation/tribe." Idris refers to Hima Beekha's comments, then says: "I was very surprised when I noticed that the meanings of all the words she indicated have the same meanings to Oromo language we speak throughout Ethiopia without any difference."
Tutsi Dominance
In Rwanda and Burundi the Tutsis have maintained their dominance over the centuries, even though they are in the minority. Though the language and culture of the Hutus and Tutsis merged into one, the Tutsis continued to maintain their separate autocratic identity, much like the Anglo-Norman nobility in Britain.
They remained distinct in physical features, names and other minor markers. They systematically maintained the social and political distinction.
Twa Pygmies
We should not forget one further cultural factor. About 1% of each country are Twa pygmies, possibly descendants of Khoisan peoples who originally spoke a "click language" related to the Bushman languages of Southern Africa. They are thought to be even earlier inhabitants of the area, before even the Bantu settled in the lakes region. The Twa all now speak a form of the same Bantu language.
Separate Mixed Kingdoms
Burundi and Rwanda had already become separate Tutsi kingdoms before European occupation as the Tutsi-Hima empire broke up. The Tutsis were a minority in both territories, and currently make up about 15% of the Burundi population and about 9% in Rwanda. But do not overlook the fact that the Tutsis and Hutus had intermarried considerably, even with the tribal class distinctions.
Some Tutsis have more Bantu features than the "pure" Tutsis. But the Tutsis have commonly been referred to as "the tall ones" and the Hutus "the short ones." Many observers of the region comment that there has been no real difference other than superficial differences in features, and that the "tribal" division referred to in recent history was a class distinction exploited by the Germans and treated only by the colonialists as a difference in ethnicity.
The Colonial Era
Animosity between the "indigenous" people and the Tutsis increased due to the German, then the Belgian, colonial pattern of indirect rule. The colonials chose the Tutsi minority as their ruling class under the suzerainty of the Belgian Empire.
Under German colonial domination from 1890, Germany first occupied what is now Burundi until the end of World War 1, when Burundi and Rwanda were joined by the League of Nations under Belgian administration as Rwanda-Urundi.
Initially Belgian indirect rule supported Tutsi power, but tension built between the two tribes. Clashes have broken out periodically in both countries. The Tutsis have remained dominant in military and politics in Burundi, though recently Hutus have been brought into the government.
Massacres
Periodically massacres break out from one side or the other, in both Burundi and Rwanda, indicating the underlying racial and social resentment and distinctions between the two ethnic groups.
In Rwanda the Hutus rebelled in 1959, forcing the Belgians to abolish the Tutsi monarchy in 1961. This led to re-grouping by the Tutsis. By the current times, about 1 million Tutsi exiles lived outside the country. These were the base for the new Tutsi-led invasion force.
Ethnic Prejudice and Pride
Political details are not our primary focus here. This illustrates how ethno-centric tendencies can become deadly for everybody. This is the probably the worst historical expression of such evil and destructive self-interest.
But this is the same problem encountered to various degrees between ethnic peoples all over the world. These people speak the same language, have basically the same culture have lived together and intermarried for centuries. Yet they still hate each other just beneath the surface because they originally came from different places and races!
Prejudice and pride are destructive forces. Understanding this from the outside does not change what has happened, and does not even help a lot in dealing with the tragedy leaving a wake of hundreds of thousands dead and millions homeless or orphaned.
It also illustrates how strong such ethnic identity is. It points up the importance of understanding how a people identify themselves. It is too easy to ignore ethnic self-identity and cover up local dynamics by imposing foreign perspectives as the working model. Local cognitive and social worldview must be understood in order for outsiders to be of help or influence.
A Gospel Reflection
But reflecting on this affirms, in my opinion, that ethnic pride and prejudice are evils incompatible with Christian values. It further presents the challenge to all peoples to find that original unity in the redeeming, uniting vision of the New Humanity in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2).
Also related:
Hima, Ham and Cush
The Hima People of Eastern Africa
Tutsis — the Ethiopia-Somali Connection
OBJ
Original version published in Afri-Com Vol. 7, No. 1, November 1994
Expanded version, incorporating material written 1996-98, posted 18 December 2004
Revised 6 September 2007
Last updated 5 August 2008
Orville Boyd Jenkins, Ed.D., Ph.D.
Copyright © Orville Boyd
Jenkins 1994, 2004
Permission granted for free
download and transmission for personal or educational use. Other rights
reserved.
| Email: orville@jenkins.nu |
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file: tutsiandhutu.html