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39-467: All Pygmy and Twa populations live near or in agricultural villages. Agricultural Bantu peoples have settled 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

78-522: A caste like they are today, much like 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

117-621: A boundary between species due to the obstructive nature of their terrain . Mont Ventoux in France is a good example, marking the boundary between the flora and fauna of northern and southern France . Most wetlands are ecotones. The spatial variation of ecotones often form due to disturbances, creating patches that separate patches of vegetation. Different intensity of disturbances can cause landslides, land shifts, or movement of sediment that can create these vegetation patches and ecotones. Plants in competition extend themselves on one side of

156-511: A campaign of genocide was conducted against the Hutu population in 1972, and an estimated 100,000 Hutus died. In 1993, Burundi's first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye , who was Hutu, was believed to be assassinated by Tutsi officers, as was the person constitutionally entitled to succeed him. This sparked a counter-genocide in Burundi between Hutu political structures and

195-583: A civil war against Rwanda's Hutu government in 1990. A peace agreement was signed, but violence erupted again, culminating in the Rwandan genocide of 1994, when Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 Rwandans, mostly Tutsis. About 30% of the Twa pygmy population of Rwanda were also killed by the Hutu extremists. At the same time, the Rwandan Patriotic Front took control of the country and

234-406: A distinct line between two communities. For example, a change in colors of grasses or plant life can indicate an ecotone. Second, a change in physiognomy (physical appearance of a plant species) can be a key indicator. Water bodies, such as estuaries, can also have a region of transition, and the boundary is characterized by the differences in heights of the macrophytes or plant species present in

273-473: A diverse ecosystem. Changes in the physical environment may produce a sharp boundary , as in the example of the interface between areas of forest and cleared land . Elsewhere, a more gradually blended interface area will be found, where species from each community will be found together as well as unique local species. Mountain ranges often create such ecotones, due to the wide variety of climatic conditions experienced on their slopes . They may also provide

312-584: 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 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

351-533: A native population of approx 7000 BaTwa. According to UNHRW more than 10,000 BaTwa are displaced from Virunga Park in 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

390-713: A number of highly adaptable species that tend to colonize such transitional areas. The phenomenon of increased variety of plants as well as animals at the community junction is called the edge effect and is essentially due to a locally broader range of suitable environmental conditions or ecological niches . An ecotone is often associated with an ecocline : a "physical transition zone" between two systems. The ecotone and ecocline concepts are sometimes confused: an ecocline can signal an ecotone chemically (ex: pH or salinity gradient ), or microclimatically ( hydrothermal gradient) between two ecosystems. In contrast: Hutu The Hutu ( / ˈ h uː t uː / ), also known as

429-635: A prior migration. The arrival of the Hutu and the Tutsi (as they are ethnically acknowledged today) around 1100 AD marked 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

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468-428: A shorter underclass, but with little relation to the gene pools that had existed a few centuries ago. The social categories are thus real, but there is little if any detectable genetic differentiation between Hutu and Tutsi. Tishkoff et al. (2009) found their mixed Hutu and Tutsi samples from Rwanda to be predominately of Bantu origin, with minor gene flow from Afro-Asiatic communities (17.7% Afro-Asiatic genes found in

507-413: 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

546-401: A small portion of Hutu speak French , the other official language of Rwanda and Burundi, as a lingua franca , although the population is dwindling given the poor relations between Rwanda and France. The Belgian-sponsored Tutsi monarchy survived until 1959 when Kigeli V was exiled from the colony (then called Ruanda-Urundi ). In Burundi, Tutsis, who are the minority, maintained control of

585-404: A spectrum of physical variation in the peoples, Belgian authorities legally mandated ethnic affiliation in the 1920s, based on economic criteria. Formal and discrete social divisions were consequently imposed upon ambiguous biological distinctions. To some extent, the permeability of these categories in the intervening decades helped to reify the biological distinctions, generating a taller elite and

624-446: A term that reflects their history of discrimination, prejudice, and exclusion. Their vulnerability 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

663-431: Is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and grassland ecosystems ). An ecotone may appear on the ground as a gradual blending of the two communities across a broad area, or it may manifest itself as a sharp boundary line. The word ecotone

702-873: The Abahutu , are a Bantu ethnic group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda , Burundi , and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great Lakes Twa . The Hutu is the largest of the three main population divisions in Burundi and Rwanda . Prior to 2017, the CIA World Factbook stated that 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians are Hutu, with Tutsis being

741-654: The Lomami River southwest of Kisangani , and on the Tshuapa River and its tributary the "Bussera". Among 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

780-686: The Ruwenzoris , there are notable populations in 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

819-539: The Great Lake region from Central Africa in the great Bantu expansion . Various theories have emerged to explain the purported physical differences between them and their fellow Bantu -speaking neighbors, the Tutsi. The Tutsi were pastoralists and are believed to have established aristocratic control over the sedentary Hutu and Twa. Through intermarriage with the Hutu, the Tutsi were gradually assimilated, culturally, linguistically, and racially. Others suggest that

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858-624: The Hutu have considerably fewer Nilo-Saharan paternal lineages (4.3% B) than the Tutsi (14.9% B). In general, the Hutu appear to share a close genetic kinship with neighboring Bantu populations, particularly the Tutsi. 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: [...] generations of gene flow obliterated whatever clear-cut physical distinctions may have once existed between these two Bantu peoples – renowned to be height, body build, and facial features. With

897-663: The Tutsi military, in which an estimated 500,000 Burundians died. There were many mass killings of Tutsis and moderate Hutus; these events were deemed to be a genocide by the United Nations International Commission of Inquiry for Burundi. While Tutsis remained in control of Burundi, the conflict resulted in genocide in Rwanda as well. A Tutsi rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front , invaded Rwanda from Uganda, which started

936-532: The areas because this distinguishes the two areas' accessibility to light. Scientists look at color variations and changes in plant height. Third, a change of species can signal an ecotone. There will be specific organisms on one side of an ecotone or the other. Other factors can illustrate or obscure an ecotone, for example, migration and the establishment of new plants. These are known as spatial mass effects, which are noticeable because some organisms will not be able to form self-sustaining populations if they cross

975-572: 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. Ecotone An ecotone

1014-426: 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

1053-419: The ecotone as far as their ability to maintain themselves allows. Beyond this competitors of the adjacent community take over. As a result, the ecotone represents a shift in dominance. Ecotones are particularly significant for mobile animals, as they can exploit more than one set of habitats within a short distance. The ecotone contains not only species common to the communities on both sides; it may also include

1092-540: The ecotone. If different species can survive in both communities of the two biomes, then the ecotone is considered to have species richness ; ecologists measure this when studying the food chain and success of organisms. Lastly, the abundance of introduced species in an ecotone can reveal the type of biome or efficiency of the two communities sharing space. Because an ecotone is the zone in which two communities integrate, many different forms of life have to live together and compete for space. Therefore, an ecotone can create

1131-706: The ethnic origins of the Hutu and Tutsi within Rwandan politics predates the Rwandan genocide , and it continues to the present day, with the government of Rwanda no longer using the distinction. Modern-day genetic studies of the Y-chromosome suggest that the Hutu, like the Tutsi, are largely of Bantu extraction (83% E1b1a , 8% E2 ). Paternal genetic influences associated with the Horn of Africa and North Africa are few (3% E1b1b and 1% R1b ), and are ascribed to much earlier inhabitants who were assimilated. However,

1170-722: The government and military. In Rwanda, the political power was transferred from the minority Tutsi to the majority Hutu. In Rwanda, this led to the "Social revolution" and Hutu and Tutsis conflicts. Tens of thousands of Tutsis were killed, and many others fled to neighboring countries, such as Burundi, Uganda , and forming the Banyamulenge Tutsi ethnic group in the South Kivu region of the Belgian Congo . Later, exiled Tutsis from Burundi invaded Rwanda, prompting Rwanda to close its border to Burundi. In Burundi ,

1209-408: 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

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1248-562: The millennia since 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

1287-525: The mixed Hutu–Tutsi population). Hutus speak Rwanda-Rundi as their native tongue, which is a member of the Bantu subgroup of the Niger–Congo language family. Rwanda-Rundi is subdivided into the Kinyarwanda and Kirundi dialects, which have been standardized as official languages of Rwanda and Burundi, respectively. It is also spoken as a mother tongue by the Tutsi and Twa. Additionally,

1326-699: 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 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

1365-519: The neighboring Bantu communities. The Twa People of Rwanda are connected to 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)

1404-634: 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

1443-437: The second largest ethnic group at 15% and 14% of residents of Rwanda and Burundi, respectively. However, these figures were omitted in 2017 and no new figures have been published since then. The Twa pygmies , the smallest of the two countries' principal populations, share language and culture with the Hutu and Tutsi. They are distinguished by a considerably shorter stature. The Hutu are believed to have first emigrated to

1482-542: The two groups are related but not identical, and they also suggest that the differences between them were exacerbated by Europeans, or they were exacerbated by a gradual, natural split, as those who owned cattle became known as the Tutsi and those who did not own cattle became known as the Hutu. Mahmood Mamdani states that the Belgian colonial power designated people as Tutsi or Hutu on the basis of cattle ownership, physical measurements and church records. The debate over

1521-482: Was coined (and its etymology given) in 1904 in "The Development and Structure of Vegetation" (Lincoln, Nebraska: Botanical Seminar) by Frederic E. Clements. It is formed as a combination of ecology plus -tone , from the Greek tonos or tension – in other words, a place where ecologies are in tension. There are several distinguishing features of an ecotone. First, an ecotone can have a sharp vegetation transition, with

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