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Tutsi
The Tutsi (/ˈtʊtsi/ TUUT-see), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (Kinyarwanda pronunciation: [ɑ.βɑ.tuː.t͡si]), are an ethnic group established primarily in Rwanda and Burundi. They are a Bantu-speaking people and the second-largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and Twa.
Historically, the Tutsi were pastoralists and filled the ranks of the warrior caste. Before 1962, they regulated and controlled Rwandan society, which consisted of Tutsi aristocrats and Hutu commoners under a clientship structure. The Tutsi occupied the dominant positions in the sharply stratified society and constituted the ruling class.
American historian Christopher Ehret believes that the Tutsi mainly descend from speakers of an extinct branch of South Cushitic he calls "Tale South Cushitic". The Tale Southern Cushites entered the Great Lakes region sometime before 800 BC and were pastoralists who relied only on their livestock and conceivably growing no grains themselves. They did not practice the hunting of wild animals, while the consumption of fish was taboo and heavily avoided. The Tale Southern Cushitic way of life shows striking similarities to the Tutsi, who rely heavily on the milk, blood, and meat of their cattle and traditionally shun the cultivation and consumption of grains, look down on pottery and hunting, and avoid eating fish. A number of words related to pastoralism in the Rwanda-Rundi languages are Tale Southern Cushitic loanwords, such as "bull", "cow dung", and "lion" (a livestock predator).
This late continuation of Southern Cushites as important pastoralists in the southern half of the lacustrine region raises the intriguing possibility that the latter-day Tutsi and Hima pastoralism, most significant in the southern half of the region, is rooted in the Southern Cushitic culture and so derived from the east rather than the north.
— Christopher Ehret, UNESCO General History of Africa: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century,
The Tutsi also derive a significant amount of their ancestry from the Sog Eastern Sahelians (a long-extinct Nilo-Saharan group). The Sog were agro-pastoralists who entered Rwanda and Burundi in 2,000 BC, mostly settling in southern Rwanda and to the east and west of the Ruzizi River. According to Ehret, they spoke a Kir-Abbaian language that was related to, but distinct from, Nilotic and Surmic languages. The Western Lakes Bantu languages spoken by the Tutsi have many Sog Eastern Sahelian loanwords, such as the word for cow (inka), which originally meant "cattle camp" in the Sog language, demonstrating their contribution to Tutsi pastoralism.
Central Sudanic peoples likely form another part of the ancestry of the Tutsi. Central Sudanic farmers and herders entered Rwanda and Burundi in 3000 BC, and some of their cultural practices have remained following their assimilation by the Bantu. For example, in Central Sudanic–speaking societies, women are kept away from cattle. Among the Tutsi (and the neighbouring Hima people to the north), women are strictly forbidden to milk cows (especially menstruating women).
The definition of "Tutsi" has changed through time and location. Social structures were unstable throughout Rwanda, even during colonial times under Belgian rule. Generally, the Tutsi elite or aristocracy was distinguished from Tutsi commoners.
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Tutsi
The Tutsi (/ˈtʊtsi/ TUUT-see), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (Kinyarwanda pronunciation: [ɑ.βɑ.tuː.t͡si]), are an ethnic group established primarily in Rwanda and Burundi. They are a Bantu-speaking people and the second-largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and Twa.
Historically, the Tutsi were pastoralists and filled the ranks of the warrior caste. Before 1962, they regulated and controlled Rwandan society, which consisted of Tutsi aristocrats and Hutu commoners under a clientship structure. The Tutsi occupied the dominant positions in the sharply stratified society and constituted the ruling class.
American historian Christopher Ehret believes that the Tutsi mainly descend from speakers of an extinct branch of South Cushitic he calls "Tale South Cushitic". The Tale Southern Cushites entered the Great Lakes region sometime before 800 BC and were pastoralists who relied only on their livestock and conceivably growing no grains themselves. They did not practice the hunting of wild animals, while the consumption of fish was taboo and heavily avoided. The Tale Southern Cushitic way of life shows striking similarities to the Tutsi, who rely heavily on the milk, blood, and meat of their cattle and traditionally shun the cultivation and consumption of grains, look down on pottery and hunting, and avoid eating fish. A number of words related to pastoralism in the Rwanda-Rundi languages are Tale Southern Cushitic loanwords, such as "bull", "cow dung", and "lion" (a livestock predator).
This late continuation of Southern Cushites as important pastoralists in the southern half of the lacustrine region raises the intriguing possibility that the latter-day Tutsi and Hima pastoralism, most significant in the southern half of the region, is rooted in the Southern Cushitic culture and so derived from the east rather than the north.
— Christopher Ehret, UNESCO General History of Africa: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century,
The Tutsi also derive a significant amount of their ancestry from the Sog Eastern Sahelians (a long-extinct Nilo-Saharan group). The Sog were agro-pastoralists who entered Rwanda and Burundi in 2,000 BC, mostly settling in southern Rwanda and to the east and west of the Ruzizi River. According to Ehret, they spoke a Kir-Abbaian language that was related to, but distinct from, Nilotic and Surmic languages. The Western Lakes Bantu languages spoken by the Tutsi have many Sog Eastern Sahelian loanwords, such as the word for cow (inka), which originally meant "cattle camp" in the Sog language, demonstrating their contribution to Tutsi pastoralism.
Central Sudanic peoples likely form another part of the ancestry of the Tutsi. Central Sudanic farmers and herders entered Rwanda and Burundi in 3000 BC, and some of their cultural practices have remained following their assimilation by the Bantu. For example, in Central Sudanic–speaking societies, women are kept away from cattle. Among the Tutsi (and the neighbouring Hima people to the north), women are strictly forbidden to milk cows (especially menstruating women).
The definition of "Tutsi" has changed through time and location. Social structures were unstable throughout Rwanda, even during colonial times under Belgian rule. Generally, the Tutsi elite or aristocracy was distinguished from Tutsi commoners.