For the defunct airline TWA, see Trans World Airlines.

Twa
Batwa with traditional bow and arrow
Total population
80,000
Regions with significant populations
Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Tanzania, Uganda
Languages
Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Rukiga
Religions
7% Christian[1]
Related ethnic groups
Hutu, Tutsi

The Twa, also known as Batwa, are a pygmy people who were the oldest recorded inhabitants of the Great Lakes region of central Africa. Current populations are found in the nations of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2000, they numbered approximately 80,000 people, making them significant minority groups in these countries^[2].

There are also a number of southern "Twa" populations in Angola, Namibia, Zambia, and Botswana living in swamps and deserts far from the forest. These are little studied, and this article will deal only with the Twa of the Great Lakes region.

History

When the Hutu, a Bantu people, arrived in the region, they subjugated the Twa. Around the 15th century AD, the Tutsi, a Nilotic people, subsequently arrived and dominated both the Twa and the Hutu. The Twa speak the same language, Kinyarwanda, as the Hutu and Tutsi. For several hundred years, the Twa have been a very small minority in the area (currently 1% in Rwanda and Burundi) and have had little political role.

The Twa are often ignored in discussions about the conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis, which reached its height in the Rwandan genocide of 1994.^[2]. About 30% of the Twa population of Rwanda died in the fighting.^[3]

Current Situation

Traditionally, the Twa have been a semi-nomadic "hunter-gatherer" people group of the mountain forests. Due to clearing of the forests for agriculture, logging, development projects, or creation of conservation areas, the Twa have been forced to leave these areas 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 recognized 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.^[4][5]

Ugandan History and their Current Problems^[6]

Mutwa

Mutwa was a native of African tropical rain forests. He was occupying the current Itwari and Bwindi Forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and western Uganda respectively. In the DRC he was known as locally as 'Mumbuti' (singular) and Bambuti (plural), while in Uganda he was 'Mutwa' (singular) and Batwa (plural). He was a nomadic hunter and gatherer. For that reason, I grew up when there was false impression that 'batwa never died'. [the] Majority of them died when they were on their nomadic movements. In most cases, Mutwa lived in solitude. Therefore when he died no one else was there to witness the death or burial. Even if they were living in a group, the number was too few to organise 'successful burial'. If he had a companion, he would organise [an] improvised burial known as 'kukonderera'. It meant that he would cut down branches and spread them all over the corpse/carcass. In addition he had limited tools/implements which could enable him to dig a grave. The most important tools he was proud of we spears, big knives and a special spear whose one end was a chisel known to him as 'ekisoosho', which enabled him to cut into a big tree to reach its hollow part which was a home for honey bees. The hollow part was known to him as 'embigo'. Another cheap method of burial was leaving a corpse/carcass against a rock in a cave. They believed that if an old man died and was buried into the soil, their skill of keen sight of bees, known as 'kutaara', would meet a curse and die out completely. They would lay the corpse to rest saying 'stand here facing up to keep on viewing the different types of honey bees in their various directions'. I quote their words 'Yemerera aha mum rutare rutature ugume utaare'. Literally meaning 'stand here in unleaking cave and on viewing bees. I got the above information from my late father (Bahimyuza) who linked me to late Ndyabarausya (father to Kisuuguru - currently living in Bubaare) who was his blood brother. On the other hand Batwa have undergone some mutation following some sexual 'harassment' by non-Batwa communities and pressure exerted on them to completely leave the forest. I have called it harassment because they win them through cheap gifts like, waragi [Ugandan Gin], Muramba, and small pieces of pork to mention but a few.

Major Problems Threatening the existence of the Batwa

1. Indulgement in Prostitution 2. Lack of animal proteins 3. Lack of well constructed shelters 4. Lack of fuel wood

Support

Groups working with the Twa

• Forest Peoples Programme - Moreton-in-Marsh, England
• CAURWA (Communauté des Autochtones Rwandais) - Kigali, Rwanda
• African International Christian Ministry - Kabale, Uganda
• Dr. Scott and Carol Kellermann - Kanungu, Uganda

See also

Other Pygmy groups

• Mbuti (Bambuti) people
• Baka
• Aka

Researchers who studied pygmy culture and music

• Colin Turnbull
• Simha Arom
• Mauro Campagnoli
• Jean-Pierre Hallet

External links

• Pygmies of Central Africa with photos and ethnographic notes
• Batwa Pygmies of the Great Lakes Region, Minority Rights Group International, June 2000
• Twa Women, Twa Rights in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Minority Rights Group International, November 2003
• BURUNDI: The Batwa quest for equality : Pygmies today in Africa IRIN In-Depth [This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.]

References