The Hutu
Located in Rwanda and Burundi
- In Great Lakes of East Africa
- Borders with Congo
- East of Lake Kivu, on the Virunga Mountains
- Located near the equator
"Land of a thousand hills"
- High plateaus, rolling hills, volcanic peaks
- High elevation
- Mountanious country
- Flat plains along Tanzania, steep mountains in west
Isolation
- Self-sufficient communities
- Difficulty to travel
10, 186 square miles in Rwanda
Economy:
Consists of substance agriculture
- Main crops: COFFEE, sweet potatoes, bananas, cassava, beans, maize, rice
- Cattle play a key role in the political structure of the country; 10% of population are ruling class of cattle owners
Culture:
Hutu Culture revolved around small agricultural communities
Cattle were prized in Hutu culture
- Cattle signified wealth and were not slaughtered in feasts, festivals or sacrifices (used chickens instead)
Valued hard workers
- Especially those who were excellent cultivators
Family life revolved around the farm
- few people lived in towns
Hutu Society:
Societies of farms were built around hilltops
Drums were used to make announcements across the land to call the leaders of the tribe.
Families lived in compounds that consisted 4 structures
- one for the kitchen, one for the bedroom, one for storage, and another for ancestral spirits, if they weren't Christian
Men could have more than one wife living in their compound.
Tutsi Influence:
The migration of the Tutsi Tribe had a heavy impact on the Hutu
- Created both conflict that resulted in war and burning of villages
- Also created a syncretic culture because they intermarried
Tutsi women were far more beautiful than Hutu women
The goal of a Hutu man was to marry a Tutsi women
- All because Tutsi women were far more beautiful than Hutu women
This allowed the Tutsi men to become lazy and marry their daughters to Hutu men
- Giving them an advantage by having to spend majority of his time caring for her and taking time away from caring for his tribe.
Women were often the source of humiliation and frequently defiled
When the ruler, or bahinza, believed a decrease in population was necessary, they killed women
- Especially those who were pregnant
Child birth consisted of very painful customs:
- babies were considered “the future”
- Women had their stomach’s cut and the interior was removed
- Some mothers were forced to eat parts of her baby’s flesh or fingers
Hutu people believed that their ruler had magical powers
- Not only controlled the climate and agriculture, but also controlled fertility
Goverment, Economics, Colonialism, & Structure of Society:
- Tutsi monarchical system by 1830
- By King Mwami Yuhi IV: began Mwami Dynasty
- Complex hierarchy; powers balanced over regions with allegiance to monarchy
- Rwanda and Burundi were one of the last to be entered by Europeans
- German colonization 1890's
- Germans used Mwami government style for indirect rule ==> beneficial to both German colonizers and Tutsi monarchy
- Never able to unite Rwanda and Burundi together politically
- By 1920's, Rwanda and Burundi handed to Belgium
- ==> attempted peace & order
- Similar government (scattered population) but limited arbitrary powers of Mwami rule
- Hutu "awareness" in 1957
- Simultaneous declaration of independence for both Rwanda and Burundi from Belgium on July 1, 1962
- Gregoire Kayibanda is first president
- ==> founded PARMEHUTU (party for Hutu amelioration)
- Consitution of November 24, 1962: 3 branches of government
- Speak Kinyarwanda and French
- Economy strongly dependent on agriculture (mostly subsistence): >80%
- Small manufactoring part, growing construction industry
- ==>production of tin ore
- Heavily dependant on foreign trade
- ==>skilled positions
- Rwandan franc = $0.01 US in 1980's
By: Bridgette, Victor, Defne & Jake
Indigenous vs. Christianity
Hutu Religion
- Many people in current Rwanda are CatholicChristianity and indigenous animist beliefs share many traitsPeople converted to Christianity but still retained indigenous beliefs along with new Christian beliefs
Imana
Rituals cont.
- Regarded as main force of life
- Responsible for all physical existence
- Basis of traditional beliefs
- Creator god, given names relative to what it creates
- i.e. “Rurema-Creator, Rugaba- Giver, Rwagisha-Enricher, IyaMbere-Eternal, Rugira-always active, Rugabo-knowing all” (65).
- Recognized as a God universally t/o Rwanda
- “Imana Y’i Rwanda”- “Rwanda is Imana’s country”
- Imiziro- Ritual prohibitions (taboos)==> Personal well-being thought to result==> Some universal while others personal==> Universal taboo=incest==> Personal=drinking milk, eating specific types of meat==> “A pregnant woman should not look upon a Westerner or hear a gunshot, for if she does her child will suffer” (68-69)
Abazimu
Rituals cont.
Amarozi= charms or amulets
- Spirit of the DeadSymbolize bad and “departed” ancestors (66).Bring troubles such as bad luck, disease, bad harvests
- Made up of animal hair or horns or sticks Used to chase away evil spiritsSource of power for ownerUsed for good luck (in marriage, hunting, curing)Even Christian converts use amulets
Umufumu
Rituals cont.
- “Smooth stones found in brooks have in them power of Imana, [placed] in ndaro” (67)Ndaro= small hut==> Stones receive daily sacrifices and offerings==> Tradition demonstrates fertility
- Medical practitioners
- Communicate w/ Dead
- Prevent bad luck caused by bad spirits
- Position passed from father to son (patriarchal) or in an apprenticeship
- Equivalent of sons of heaven in China
- ==> Serve as intermediates between men and spirits
- Leopard skin, headdress of cowtail and gourd rattle signify umufumu office
- “[Divine] through ancestral spirits” (68)
- Read dreams and foresee future
- Ababvubyi- type of umufumu
- ==> Perform rituals that cause rain to fall
Rituals
Abarosi
- Good fortunes obtained with well-performed rituals-Most completed in good harvests (i.e. July-October) and events in life cycleExternal medicine is favored over internal medicine (in the form of an amulet)“Diviners’ power, not object itself, will bring relief” (68)Traditional practices still preferred over modern ones
- WitchesNEGATIVEIdentified by DivinersBlamed in hard times, bad luckThose found practicing convicted and either beaten or “driven into the bush” (68)
Small paucity of land
Shortage of arable land
Land used for agriculture
- 60% of Rwanda's land area devoted to pasture
- Lush, fertile appearance
Lack of any significant mineral sources
Coffee!
- Grew coffee as cash crop
- 90% of coffee exports sold to U.S.
- Most important export
Hutu people are described to be, properly speaking, dark skinned people with round faces composed of thick lips and astounding noses.
Common Foods of the Hutu:
Ate beans, bananas, potatoes, and sorghum
Wealthy ate meat such as beef, goat, and chicken
Ceremonial Food Customs:
Special occasions always involve alcohol and food
- Weddings/funerals served a piece of meat and usually potatoes
Customary to serve people food and drink when having vistors in their home
- Food is a gift to visitors
Only ate food in public during ceremonies
- Recent taboo of eating in public minimized
- Restaurants evolved in urban areas
- Increased Tutsi monarchical system under German control;
Thanks, Germany!
- Centered around small-scale agriculture
- Organized into clans, with kings called "Bahinza"
- From 14th to 19th centuries, Hutu society gradually centralized under Tutsi minority ==>cohesive political and social system
- Tutsi moved into Rwanda/Burundi area
- Tutsi brought two(2) things:
- cattle and knowledge of warfare ==> Tutsi's social, economic, and political dominance over Hutu.
- Contract called ubuhake emerged==> feudalism
- Genocides in 1970's, '80's, and '90's
- Hutu and Tutsi ethnic hate