The Great Lakes Twa, also known as Batwa (singular Mutwa), Abatwa or Ge-Sera, are a

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle * Black Association for Nationa ...

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

native to the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in th ...

region on the border of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...

. As an indigenous pygmy people, the Twa are generally assumed to be the oldest surviving population of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. Current populations of Great Lakes Twa people live in the states of

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

and the eastern portion of the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. In 2000 they numbered approximately 80,000 people, making them a significant minority group in these countries. 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.

History

Traditionally, the Twa have been semi-

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fung ...

s of the mountain forests living in association with agricultural villages, much as other pygmy peoples do. When the

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the p ...

, a

-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. Around the 15th century AD, the pastoralist

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic g ...

arrived and dominated both the Hutu and the Twa, creating a three-

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...

society with the Tutsi governing, the Hutu the bulk of the population, and the Twa at the bottom of the social scale, simultaneously despised, admired, and feared. For several hundred years, the Twa have been a small minority in 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 the conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis, which reached its height in the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

of 1994. About 30% of the Twa population of

died in the violence. The Twa of Uganda lived in the mountains of the

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a large primeval forest located in south-western Uganda in the Kanungu District. The Bwindi forest is on the edge of the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, at elevations ranging from ...

until 1992, when it was made a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

for the endangered

mountain gorilla The mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2018. There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Centra ...

. At that time they were expelled from the forest and placed in settlements.

Current situation

Due to clearing of 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 Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...

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 An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from w ...

, they continue to suffer ethnic

prejudice Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...

, 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 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, 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 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.

Return to Kahuzi-Biega National Park

In the 1975, 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 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, the group rape of Batwa women, and the mutilation of the bodies of those killed by the park guards.

Organisations operating with Great Lakes Twa

*Development and Research Innovations – Wilmington,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Forest Peoples Programme Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) advocates an alternative vision of how forests should be managed and controlled, based on respect for the rights of the peoples who know them best. FPP works with forest peoples in South America, Africa, and Asia, ...

– Moreton-in-Marsh,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

*CAURWA (Communauté des Autochthones Rwandais) –

Kigali Kigali () is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwanda's economic, cult ...

African International Christian Ministry
–

Kabale Kabale is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the chief town of Kabale District, and the district headquarters are located there. Sometimes nicknamed “Kastone” as in the local language Rukiga, a “kabale” is a small stone. Lo ...

Dr. Scott and Carol Kellermann
– Kanungu,

Bwindi Community Hospital Bwindi Community Hospital was founded in 2003 by Scott and Carol Kellermann. It began as an outreach clinic under a tree, and has grown into a 112-bed hospital providing health care and health education services to a population of over 100,000 ...

website

The Bwindi Development Program
*Geoffrey S. Proud
Pygmy Survival Alliance
–

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, United States *Empowerment of the Batwa Project
CARE International in UgandaASeTTS (Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors)

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Distribution of the Great Lakes Twa

*Volcano National Park, Rwanda (resettled, 1970s–1980s) *Nyungwe Forest, Rwanda (resettled, 1970s–1980s) *

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) is in southwestern Uganda. The park is part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and is situated along the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) border next to the Virunga National Park and on the edge o ...

, Uganda (evicted 1991) *Mgahinga National Park, Uganda (evicted 1991) *Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Congo (evicted 1975, returned 2019) * Virunga National Park,

Gishwati Forest Gishwati Forest is a forest in the north-western part of Rwanda, not far from Lake Kivu. It is part of Gishwati–Mukura National Park. The area's forests were largely intact in 1978, and substantial forest cover still remained in 1986. During t ...

, Rwanda (evicted for forest plantation and dairy production, then as refugee lands) * Mfangano Island,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

(prehistoric only)

Language

The Great Lakes Twa speak distinct dialects of Rundi and Kiga.

References

External links

Pygmies of Central Africa
with photos and ethnographic notes

Minority Rights Group, 2008
Batwa Pygmies of the Great Lakes Region
Minority Rights Group, 2000
Twa Women, Twa Rights in the Great Lakes Region of Africa
Minority Rights Group, 2003
BURUNDI: The Batwa quest for equality
Pygmies today in Africa IRIN In-Depth * {{Authority control Banyarwanda African Pygmies Bantu peoples Ethnic groups in Rwanda Ethnic groups in Burundi Ethnic groups in Uganda Ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization