The Tutsi’s homeland in East Central Africa is
Burundi, which borders Rwanda. The Tutsi are a herding society and their
country consists of many pasture lands, fertile areas, and mountain slopes. With
these lands they share with numerous sorts of wildlife such as hippos, baboons,
warthogs, elephants, antelopes, buffalo’s and ect. But with no natural park or
sanctuaries established, the Tutsi’s animals are threatened due to outside
development, deforestation, and soil erosion. And since the laws are very lackadaisical,
poaching is also a very detrimental issue.
With a
population of approximately 6,054,714 in 2000, Burundi has one of the grandest
densities in Africa. The Tutsi’s historical enemies, the Hutu, make up the
majority of the country. Where the Tutsi’s are only accountable for 14% of the
population. Due to ethnic imbalances and shifts, many Hutu fled to Rwanda, a
neighboring country, to evade ethnic persecution. And a myriad of Tutsi’s
liberated to Burundi so that they wouldn’t have to endure violence in Rwanda. The
Tutsi now comprise 20% of the population.
In the
midst of all this, many other ethnic groups have relocated to Burundi’s capital
of Bujumbura and call it their home. Most of these diversified immigrants of
3,000 Europeans and 2,000 South Asians are involved in missionaries and church
related activities. Bujumbura is Burundi’s most populated and industrialized
city and the majority of immigrants are clustered in the capital. Once known as
Usumbura, Bujumbura used to be the colonial capital. It is one of the two urban
centers in Burundi (The second largest being Gitega) and has vast amounts of
architecture that are visibly influenced by Europeans. The rest of the
Burundians, the majority (94%), live in rural areas and in groupings too
minuscule to be called a village. Their houses are built of grass, mud, woven
leaves, cattle corals, tin, and sticks. And their traditional hut is called a rugo.
Reference:
JRank. N.d. "Burundi."
Countries and Their Cultures. Electronic document.
http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Burundi.htmlFind accessed March 12, 2014.
Looking Back
ReplyDeleteAs a cultural anthropologist or anyone studying people of other cultures, it is good to be open minded and not use false preconceptions in the research and analysis process. Throughout grade school all the way to high school, I believe I've learned about the Tutsi and the Hutu before in small portions in different points in time. But not enough that I can remember everything/anything to go off that information and be able to write my ethnographic post. I did my best to research and not bring possible inert information and partake in activated ignorance. An ultimate goal of research is to convey activated knowledge that is understood and prompts further critical thinking and information. This helps us be less ethnocentric beings and helps us avoid the issue of framing certain people/societies in a negative light.
Due to the vast amount of historical ethnic struggles that has occurred in Burundi and bordering countries around it, I think that the Tutsi and the Hutu are very ethnocentric towards each other. One group feels as though it is better than the other and I know it must have been a terrible struggle for the Tutsi’s because Hutu made up the majority of Burundi. The animosity between the two have led to continuous violence. Although culturally, they are similar and share a lot in common, they also share a mutual hatred for each other. For instance, the Hutu look down on the Tutsi for their “greedy” nature and the Tutsi depreciate the Hutu for their farming traditions. This can lead and did lead to social stratification in the country even when the Tutsi gained power. In this period, around the 14th and 15th century, I think there was a paradigm shift because to be a Tutsi was the higher class and the Hutu were left illiterate and poor. The few Hutu that were in professional jobs and training were targeted by Tutsi. Rare Hutu with honorable bravery could have vertical class mobility and be a Tutsi and dishonorable Tutsi can become Hutu. I think in a way, this could be likened to the institutionalized racism in our society.
One thing I also noticed in my research is the urbanization of the two major cities of Burundi. With vast amounts of immigrants coming into Burundi, it brought a paramount of globalization and influence. And I think because of that, the country of Burundi could have went through a time of acculturation because those two major cities have very apparent European influence. But my research also showed me how the people of Burundi had human agency. Even though these two major cities were very urbanized, a lot of people stuck to their traditional grass/mud huts and agricultural way of life. This sort of reminds of the situation in Milking the Rhino, one of the movies that we watched in class. Instead of the normal cattle/agricultural way of living, some people built a cabin to delve in the business of tourism. With this, they had to learn how to do certain tasks that they weren't used to doing like making sunny side up eggs. This is another form of acculturation and some people in the country didn't like that and wanted nothing to do with the cabin. Human agency was very apparent here.
This is awesome Ardy. Well said, and incorporating a lot of what we talked about in class. I appreciate it. You guys are doing great here. All your reflective posts are very insightful. When you get a chance get together, and plan a nice presentation. There is a lot you can do here with how much you have put into it. Read the comments I made elsewhere on this blog. Little things to address, for instance, the refs to make it all really consistent, which it is already. Great work you all. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGood job Ardy!! Thanks for the responsible blogging this semester!
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