Pre Colonial Hutu Tutsi Identity
Rwanda became a political entity in the 17th century when a neighboring ruler from Karagwe-Ndorwa, Ruganzu Ndori, set up shop in the region1. Even before Ruganzu Ndori's arrival though, Rwandan society was already divided up into three rough categories that often overlapped: cultivation, pastoralism, and foraging2 with their own respective titles of Tutsi, Hima and Twa3. Tensions have always existed between the groups as they competed over limited resources. The Twa were pushed further and further back into the forests as land was cleared for farming and the people themselves were considered sub human by the Tutsi and Hima due to their lifestyle of foraging4. In the 18th century under the reign of Yuhi Mazimpaka5, the term Hutu first appeared that would create an ethnic difference between the Tutsi and Hutu despite there being no anthropological basis for it. The warrior caste of society (Tutsi) used the Hutu as their servants, the very meaning of the word is derogatory and roughly translates to 'social inferior' or 'servant'6. Alternatively to military power, political power and social standing was also determined by the number of cattle one possessed7. The Tutsi pastoralists would exchange cows for services rendered, known as 'ubuhake'8 which further cemented the master/servant dynamic between the Tutsi and Hutu, although it's important to note that ubuhake is a voluntary act akin to serfdom according to Kalgam (1975), a tool used not only for wealth, but protection.
(Image Credit: http://www.hikabisa.com)
Colonial Hutu Tutsi Identity
Colonialism reared its ugly head when the Belgians ruled the region from 1916 to 1962*9 to further social inequalities and unwillingly set the stage for genocide. The ethnic division between Tutsi and Hutu was institutionalized with the introduction of ethnic identity cards10. Under colonial rule, ubuhake was taken one step further by replacing it with forced labour called 'akazi'11. The Belgians ruled through the Tutsi whom they considered racially superior to the shorter and 'flat-nosed' Hutu12. The Belgians began to pull out in 1959*13 and to ease the transition democratic elections were held where the majority Hutu easily won and installed their own regime. In response to hundreds of years of oppression, violence broke out, some Tutsi stayed in an attempt to regain control over the goverment, but an estimated half of the Tutsi population fled or were driven to Uganda and surrounding regions14.
(Image Credit: http://www.hikabisa.com)
Prelude to Genocide
Since then the exodus in 1959, most Tutsi have desired to return to their homeland under violent or peaceful circumstances, or at least seek repatriation. Remarkably, the remaining Tutsi population in Rwanda was spared any major violence at the hands of the Hutu barring an incident in 1973 over a dying regime that attempted to use the Tutsi as a scapegoat15. Tutsi refugees who fled to Uganda became entangled with Uganda politics for better or worse. Facing oppression in Uganda, the Tutsi rallied together under Musevani's Ugandan rebel movement, the National Resistance Army (NRA)16 which went on to overthrow the Ugandan goverment in 1986.17 Another group composed of Tutsi refugees called the RANU would unite with the victorious Tutsi rebels from the NRA to form the RPF, Rwandan Patriotic Front. This group would spark the Rwandan genocide in 1990 by invading Rwanda with the goal of overthrowing the existing Hutu goverment.
1 Christopher C. Taylor, Social Analysis, Volume 49, Issue2, Summer 2005, 213-230, Mutton, Mud and Runny
2 Ibid
3 Ibid
4 Ibid
5 Ibid
6 Ibid
7 Gasanabo, Social Alternatives Vol. 25, No.1, 2006, The Rwandan Akazi (Forced Labour) System, History, and Humiliation
8 Ibid 50
11 Ibid 50
9 Economist; 3/27/2004, Vol. 370 Issue 8368, p25-27, 3p, 2 color, The Road out of Hell
10 Ibid
12 Ibid
Kagame, A. (1975) Un Abrege de l'Histoire due Rwanda de 1853 a 1972. Vol 2. Butare: Editions Universitaires de Rwanda
13 Kuperman, Journal of Genocide Research (2004), 6(1), March, 61-84, Provoking genodice: a revised history of the Rwandan Patriotic Front
14 Ibid 63
15 Ibid 64
16 Ibid 65
17 Ibid 66