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35-710: Apart from anthropological literature, the term "Twa" generally refers to the Twa of the Great Lakes region. There are a number of other Twa populations in the Congo forest , as well as southern Twa populations living in swamps and deserts where there has never been forest, but these are little known in the West. Traditionally, the Twa have been semi- nomadic hunter-gatherers of the mountain forests living in association with agricultural villages, much as other pygmy peoples do. When

70-645: A broader population of Twa Peoples, and one of three main ethnic groups, alongside the Hutu and the Tutsi . While their population numbers have decreased significantly–comprising around 0.2-0.7% of the population, with estimates ranging from 20,000 to 36,000 individuals according to various sources. The Twa in Rwanda have been designated as “Historically Marginalized People (HMP) a term that reflects their history of discrimination, prejudice, and exclusion. Their vulnerability

105-599: A certain pattern of tonal change in Bantu languages, is active. In 2020, the Rundi Academy was established to help standardize and promote Kirundi. Although the literature on Rundi agrees on 5 vowels, the number of consonants can vary anywhere from 19 to 26 consonants. The table below is compiled from a survey of academic acceptance of Rundi consonants. The table below gives the vowel sounds of Rundi. All five vowels occur in long and short forms. The distinction

140-455: A metrical or rhythmic structure. Some authors have expanded these more complex features of the tonal system noting that such properties are highly unusual for a tone system. Syllable structure in Rundi is considered to be CV, that is having no clusters, no coda consonants, and no complex vowel nuclei. It has been proposed that sequences that are CVV in the surface realization are actually CV in

175-399: A number of ecotones next to an area that has game but will not support agriculture, such as the edges of the rainforest, open swamp, and desert. The Twa spend part of the year in the otherwise uninhabited region hunting game, trading for agricultural products with the farmers while they do so. Roger Blench has proposed that Twa (Pygmies) originated as a caste like they are today, much like

210-414: A significant decrease in livelihood for the Twa, who sustained themselves by providing forest resources and goods to other populations–as these populations no longer relied on the Twa for access and woodland territories decreased, the dependence on agricultural and pastoral resources increased, and a number of Twa struggled to maintain their way of life. Twa historical contributions and their indigeneity to

245-540: Is phonemic . Rundi is a tonal language . There are two essential tones in Rundi: high and low (or H and L). Since Rundi has phonemic distinction on vowel length, when a long vowel changes from a low tone to a high tone it is marked as a rising tone. When a long vowel changes from a high tone to a low tone, it is marked as a falling tone. Rundi is often used in phonology to illustrate examples of Meeussen's rule In addition, it has been proposed that tones can shift by

280-624: Is a Bantu language and the national language of Burundi . It is a dialect of Rwanda-Rundi dialect continuum that is also spoken in Rwanda and adjacent parts of Tanzania (in regions close to Kigoma), the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Uganda , as well as in Kenya . Kirundi is mutually intelligible with Kinyarwanda , the national language of Rwanda , and the two form parts of

315-575: Is underscored by reports that highlight their status as one of the most disadvantaged groups in the country. The Twa today make up less than one percent of Rwanda’s population. Historically, however, they held a greater presence in the region. Oral history and anthropological evidence substantiate their Indigenous status, showing no signs of a prior migration. The arrival of the Hutu and the Tutsi (as they are ethnically acknowledged today) around 1100 AD marked

350-501: The Numu blacksmith castes of West Africa , economically specialized groups which became endogamous and consequently developed into separate ethnic groups, sometimes, as with the Ligbi , also their own languages. A mismatch in language between patron and client could later occur from population displacements. The short stature of the "forest people" could have developed in the millennia since

385-666: The Bantu expansion , as happened also with Bantu domestic animals in the rainforest. Perhaps there was additional selective pressure from farmers taking the tallest women back to their villages as wives. However, that is incidental to the social identity of the Pygmy/Twa. Twa live scattered throughout the Congo . In addition to the Great Lakes Twa of the dense forests under the Ruwenzoris , there are notable populations in

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420-619: The Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National parks that border the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda living mainly in areas bordering other Bantu Tribes. In 1992 the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest became a national park and a World Heritage Site to protect the 350 endangered mountain gorillas within its boundaries. As a result, the Batwa were evicted from the park. Since they had no title to

455-410: The Hutu , a Bantu -speaking people, arrived in the region, they subjugated 'bush people' (hunter-gatherers) they called Abatwa , which are generally assumed to be the ancestors of the Twa today, though it may be that the Twa arrived alongside the Hutu, and either were a distinct people from the original inhabitants, or have mixed ancestry. For several hundred years, the Twa have been a small minority in

490-552: The Kahuzi-Biega National Park was expanded and some 6,000 Batwa who had been living there in their ancestral home were expelled and displaced. As a result, they were living landless in host communities in poverty and destitution. After a long period of failed negotiations and broken promises with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and park authorities, in 2019 they returned to

525-677: The Mongo , on the rare occasions of caste mixing, the child is raised as Twa. If this is a common pattern with Twa groups, it may explain why the Twa are less physically distinct from their patrons than the Mbenga and Mbuti, where village men take Pygmy women out of the forest as wives. The Congolese variant of the name, at least in Mongo, Kasai, and Katanga, is Cwa . The Batwa of Uganda were forest dwellers who lived by gathering and hunting as their main source of food. They are believed to have lived in

560-701: The swamp forest around Lake Tumba in the west (about 14,000 Twa, more than the Great Lakes Twa in all countries), in the forest– savanna swamps of Kasai in the south-center, and in the savanna swamps scattered throughout Katanga in the south-east, as in the Upemba Depression with its floating islands , and around Kiambi on the Luvua River . The island of Idjwi has a native population of approx 7000 BaTwa. According to UNHRW more than 10,000 BaTwa are displaced from Virunga Park in

595-401: The Batwa now perceive their pottery as an expression of their identity. Although it is no longer profitable since industrialised pottery became cheaply available, the Batwa continue to produce traditional pottery 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

630-649: The Northern Kivu province's refugee camps such as Mugunga and Mubambiro due to decades of war. The term Batwa is used to cover a number of different cultural groups, while many Batwa in various parts of the DRC call themselves Bambuti. Arab and colonial accounts speak of Twa on either side of the Lomami River southwest of Kisangani , and on the Tshuapa River and its tributary the "Bussera". Among

665-430: The area, currently 1% in Rwanda and Burundi, and have had little political role, though there were at times Twa in the government of the Tutsi king, and some even obtained a privilege position in the royal court as entertainers, or even executioners. Unusually for Pygmies, who generally trade meat for agricultural products, iron, and pottery, the Twa are themselves potters . The Twa are often omitted in discussions about

700-603: The best fishing grounds. The geneticist Cavalli-Sforza also shows Twa near Lake Mweru on the Zambia–Congo border. There are two obvious possibilities: the Luapula Swamps , and the swamps of Lake Mweru Wantipa . The latter is Taabwa territory, and the Twa are reported to live among the Taabwa. The former is reported to be the territory of Bemba-speaking Twa. Rundi language Kirundi , also known as Rundi ,

735-446: The clay and carrying it to their settlements allows for socialisation and a sense of community among Batwa potters. However, in Rwanda the shared access marshes where Batwa harvest clay under an informal communal tenure system are fast becoming collectivised rice-growing plantations due to a 2005 land policy change. They face another crisis as they lose another occupation that defines Batwa identity and provides social livelihood. In 1975,

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770-622: The conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis, which reached its height in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. About 30% of the Twa population of Rwanda died in the violence. The Twa of Uganda lived in the mountains of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest until 1992, when it was made a World Heritage Site for the endangered mountain gorilla . At that time they were expelled from the forest and placed in settlements . Due to clearing of

805-427: The earth, reflecting their long-standing and influential impact on the region. Southern Angola through central Namibia had Twa populations when Europeans first arrived in the 16th century. Estermann writes, The southern Twa today live in close economic symbiosis with the tribes among which they are scattered— Ngambwe , Havakona , Zimba and Himba . None of the individuals I have observed differs physically from

840-932: The forests for agriculture, logging, development projects, and the creation of conservation areas, the Twa have been forced to leave the mountain forests 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 recognised 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. 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. By 2007, begging

875-564: The group rape of Batwa women, and the mutilation of the bodies of those killed by the park guards. The Great Lakes Twa speak distinct dialects of Rundi and Kiga . Twa peoples The Twa , often referred to as Batwa or Mutwa (singular), are indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of the Great Lakes Region in Central Africa, recognized as some of the earliest inhabitants of the area. Historically and academically,

910-408: The land constitute a vital foundation in the building of the socio-cultural landscape that currently exists in Rwanda today. Twa culture plays a major role in the oral traditions of history and mythology of neighboring groups as an autochthonous people–the earliest settlers of the land–they occupied critical positions of power in governance and presided over ceremonial traditions to honor the vitality of

945-420: The land, they were given no compensation. The Batwa became conservation refugees in an unforested environment unfamiliar to them. Poverty, drugs and alcohol abuse were rampant, as well as a lack of education facilities, HIV as well as violence and discrimination against women and girls were higher among Batwa communities than among the neighboring Bantu communities. The Twa People of Rwanda are connected to

980-636: The neighboring Bantu. These peoples live in desert environments. Accounts are limited and tend to confuse the Twa with the San . The Twa of these countries live in swampy areas, such as the Twa fishermen of the Bangweulu Swamps , Lukanga Swamp , and Kafue Flats of Zambia ; only the Twa fish in Southern Province , where the swampy terrain means that large-scale crops cannot be planted near

1015-460: The onset of Twa subjugation, a practice that was sustained during precolonial and colonial periods and into the era of post-colonial conflict As largely hunter gatherer populations, the Twa were experts of the woodland landscape, well versed in acquiring both plant and animal food sources for hundreds of years before herders and farmers began to clear large sections of forests—decimating arable land for agriculture and livestock. This decimation led to

1050-450: The park and built new villages on what previously their land. In response to this, the park authorities began a campaign of organized violence in order to frighten the Batwa from their villages and the park and prevent them from returning. This campaign involved surprise attacks by militarized park guards with the assistance of the DRC army armed with AK-47s and belt-fed machine guns, shelling villages with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades,

1085-701: The term “Pygmy” has been used to describe these groups, however, it is considered derogatory, particularly by the Twa themselves. While some Batwa activists accept the term as an acknowledgement of their indigenous status, most prefer specific ethnic labels such as Bambuti (for the Ituri Forest region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Baaka (Lobaye Forest, Central African Republic), and Bambendjelle (Ndoki Forest, Congo-Brazzaville and Central African Republic). All Pygmy and Twa populations live near or in agricultural villages. Agricultural Bantu peoples have settled

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1120-427: The underlying deep structure , with the consonant coalescing with the first vowel. Rundi has been shown to have properties of consonant harmony particularly when it comes to sibilants. Meeussen described this harmony in his essay and it is investigated further by others. One example of this harmony is triggered by /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ and targets the set of /s/ and /z/ in preceding adjacent stem syllables. Kirundi

1155-416: The wider dialect continuum known as Rwanda-Rundi . Kirundi is natively spoken by the Hutu , including Bakiga and other related ethnicities, as well as Tutsi , Twa and Hima among others have adopted the language. Neighbouring dialects of Kirundi are mutually intelligible with Ha , a language spoken in western Tanzania . Kirundi is one of the languages where Meeussen's rule , a rule describing

1190-649: Was recognized an official language in Burundi by the 1962 Constitution of the Kingdom of Burundi . In accordance with the constitution, many Burundian government orders, especially those printed in the Bulletin Officiel du Burundi from 1962 to 1963, were written in both French and Kirundi. After the constitution was suspended in 1966, Kirundi remained a de facto official language in the country, though its use in government documents declined. In 1972 Kirundi

1225-498: Was the primary source of livelihood for 40 percent of the Batwa in Rwanda. 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 practise traditional cultural and economic activities,

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