The Hutu Tribe: Hotel Rwanda Genocide
Hutu
The mention of the word “Hutu” immediately conjures up images of mass murder from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The recent film Hotel Rwanda brought the horrible atrocities of that genocide to the public eye. However, it is not only in Rwanda that the Hutu have been involved in ethnic war. The country of Burundi, a neighbor to Rwanda, was the site of the first violence between the Hutu and the Tutsi. The Hutu people of Burundi have a rich culture and history that has been largely overshadowed by ethnic conflict. The Hutu are a Bantu tribe numbering about thirteen million (Newbury 2001). Traditionally the Hutu organized themselves in clans and family groups through patrilineal decent (Ndarishikanye 1998). Within these groups they practiced polygyny and bridewealth as part of the institution of marriage (McDonald et.al 1969). Like many African tribes the Hutu’s religious beliefs include the spirit world. The supreme God Imana is seen as the giver of all good while there are lesser spirits who do evil (book). …show more content…
The Hutu inhabit diverse geographies. In the southeast region of the Rwanda and Burundi territory there are open grasslands which are ideal for pastoral people. In the western region of the countries there are mountains. The west is good land for agriculture because it reliably receives rainfall. In the northeast there are lowlands that are along Lake Tanganyika (Newbury, 2001). This vast array of ecologies provides different possibilities for food production or
The mention of the word “Hutu” immediately conjures up images of mass murder from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The recent film Hotel Rwanda brought the horrible atrocities of that genocide to the public eye. However, it is not only in Rwanda that the Hutu have been involved in ethnic war. The country of Burundi, a neighbor to Rwanda, was the site of the first violence between the Hutu and the Tutsi. The Hutu people of Burundi have a rich culture and history that has been largely overshadowed by ethnic conflict. The Hutu are a Bantu tribe numbering about thirteen million (Newbury 2001). Traditionally the Hutu organized themselves in clans and family groups through patrilineal decent (Ndarishikanye 1998). Within these groups they practiced polygyny and bridewealth as part of the institution of marriage (McDonald et.al 1969). Like many African tribes the Hutu’s religious beliefs include the spirit world. The supreme God Imana is seen as the giver of all good while there are lesser spirits who do evil (book). …show more content…
The Hutu inhabit diverse geographies. In the southeast region of the Rwanda and Burundi territory there are open grasslands which are ideal for pastoral people. In the western region of the countries there are mountains. The west is good land for agriculture because it reliably receives rainfall. In the northeast there are lowlands that are along Lake Tanganyika (Newbury, 2001). This vast array of ecologies provides different possibilities for food production or