 | |
 | |
| Mutwa with traditional bow and arrow | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 80,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Tanzania, Uganda | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
The Twa, or Abatwa, also known in English as Batwa, are a pygmy people who were the oldest recorded inhabitants of the Great Lakes region of central Africa. Current populations are found in the states of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2000, they numbered approximately 80,000 people, making them a significant minority group in these countries.[2]
There are also a number of southern Twa populations in Angola, Namibia, Zambia, and Botswana living in swamps and deserts far from the forest. These are little studied, and this article deals only with the Twa of the Great Lakes region.
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History
When the Hutu, a Bantu-speaking people, arrived in the region, they subjugated the Twa.[citation needed] Around the fifteenth century AD, the Tutsi, a cushite-speaking people, subsequently arrived and dominated both the Twa and the Hutu.[citation needed] Local Twa speak the same language, Rwanda-Rundi, as the Hutu and Tutsi. For several hundred years, the Twa have been a very small minority in the area (currently 1% in Rwanda and Burundi) and have had little political role.
The Twa are often ignored in discussions about the conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis, which reached its height in the Rwandan genocide of 1994.[2] About 30% of the Twa population of Rwanda died in the fighting.[3]
Current situation
Traditionally, the Twa have been a semi-nomadic "hunter-gatherer" people group of the mountain forests. Due to clearing of the forests for agriculture, logging, development projects, or creation of conservation areas, the Twa have been forced to leave these areas and establish new homes. As they seek to develop new means of sustaining their communities (such as agriculture and livestock development) most are currently landless and live in poverty. The ancestral land rights of the Twa have never been recognized by their governments and no compensation has been made for lands lost.
Twa children have little access to education and their communities have limited representation in local and national government. Due to their pygmy ancestry, they continue to suffer ethnic prejudice, discrimination, violence, and general exclusion from society.[4][5] Batwa men struggle with alcoholism, known to occur in communities facing cultural collapse as men can no longer carry out traditional roles and provide for families.[6] By 2007, begging was the primary source of livelihood for 40% of the Batwa in Rwanda.[7]
While the Batwa adapted to the changes in their environment by adopting new economic activities and thus traditions and identities, they continue to face challenges to their survival. Today, much of the available land, apart from areas reserved for wildlife conservation and environmental protection, is under cultivation. Unable to access their ancestral lands and practice traditional cultural and economic activities, the Batwa now perceive their pottery as an expression of their present day identity; however, since cheap industrialized products are now readily available, pottery has become a “lossmaking” activity.[8] Despite this, the Batwa cling to the activity for its cultural and social significance. Not only do they consider it an ancestral tradition, but also it carries a social importance in their current day society. The process of digging the clay and carrying it to their settlements allows for socialization and a sense of community amongst Batwa potters.[9] However, in Rwanda the shared access marshes where Batwa harvest clay under an informal communal tenure system are fast becoming collectivized rice growing plantations due to a 2005 land policy change.[10] They face another crisis as they lose another occupation that defines Batwa identity and provides social livelihood.
Support
Groups working with the Twa
- Act & Empower - Washington DC, Uganda
- Forest Peoples Programme - Moreton-in-Marsh, England
- CAURWA (Communauté des Autochtones Rwandais) - Kigali, Rwanda
- African International Christian Ministry - Kabale, Uganda
- Dr. Scott and Carol Kellermann - Kanungu, Uganda
- Geoffrey S. Proud
- Pygmy Survival Alliance - Seattle, Washington
- CARE International in Uganda
ASeTTS (Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors) Western Australia [1]
Distribution of the Twa
- Volcano National Park, Rwanda (resettled, 1970's - 1980s)
- Nyungwe Forest, Rwanda (resettled, 1970's - 1980s)
- Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda (evicted 1991)
- Mgahinga National Park, Uganda (evicted 1991)
- Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Congo (evicted)
- Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (evicted)
- Gishwati Forest, Rwanda (evicted for forest plantation and dairy production, then as refugee lands)[11]
- Mfangano Island, Kenya (prehistoric only)
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