#tutsi #rwanda #burundi
In this video we look at the Tutsi people , an ethnic group of probable Nilotic and Kushitic origin whose members live within Rwanda and Burundi.
The Tutsi constitute about 9% and 14% of the populations of Rwanda and Burundi respectively. A brief history of the Tutsi. The Tutsi first penetrated the area in the 14th or 15th century, entering from the northeast seeking new rangelands. Though they were skilled warriors, they integrated with the resident Hutu through a slow and largely peaceful Infiltration. The Tutsi established a feudal kind of relationship with the Hutu, gaining their status through possession of cattle and advanced knowledge of warfare. At the head of the Tutsi's complex hierarchical political structure was the Mwami or the king who was considered to be of divine origin.
Tutsi expansion continued until the European colonial period of late 19th century and until then relations between the Hutu and the Tutsi had been fairly amicable. The Hutu and the Tutsi cultures gradually integrated over the centuries and the Tutsi adopted the mutually intelligible Bantu languages of Kinyarwanda and Kirundi.
Many scholars have concluded that the determination of Tutsi was and is mainly an expression of class or caste rather than ethnicity.
Religion wise, the Hutu and the Tutsi adhere essentially to the same religious beliefs which include forms of animism and Christianity. Now one interesting thing about the Tutsis is their above average height. Most of them are about 5 feet 9 inches, although individuals have been recorded as being taller than 7 feet. Under their holy king, Tutsi culture traditionally evolved around administering justice and government.
They were proprietors of cattle, hence their lifestyle afforded them a lot of leisure time which they spent cultivating the high arts of poetry, weaving and music. The most famous traditional dance is Intore, a highly choreographed routine consisting of three components, the ballet performed by the women and the dance of heroes performed by men and the drums.
The shield is an important element of the visually striking costumes worn during the Intore cultural dance ceremony. The dance is very spectacular. In the Tutsi culture, bath is the first rite of passage. In the earlier days when a baby was born, it was kept indoors for at least eight days and that also applied to its mother. The Tutsi do not practice male circumcision.
The cuisine of Rwanda is simple yet unique, with the typical Rwandan diet consisting of sweet potatoes, beans, corn, peas, millet, and fruit. Those people who live near lakes also incorporate fish into their diets, particularly tilapia. Modern-day genetic studies of the Y chromosome generally indicate that the Tutsi, like the Hutu, are largely of Bantu extraction at about 60%. Paterno-genetic influences associated with the Horn of Africa and the North are about 22%, which suggests that the ancestors of the Tutsis in this area may have assimilated some Southern Cushitic-speaking pastoralists. The rest is attributed to Nilo-Saharan regions, and this could explain why many Tutsis are very tall. In general, the Tutsi appear to share close genetic kinship with the neighbouring Bantu populations, particularly the Hutus.
However, it is unclear whether this similarity is primarily due to extensive genetic exchanges between these communities through intermarriage or whether it ultimately stems from common origins.
It is worth noting that Tutsis and Hutus DNA studies show clearly that these peoples are more closely related to each other than to faraway groups.
21 июн 2024
