History of the Tutsi and Hutu

It is said the Hutu arrived in central east Africa somewhere in the 1st century. Before
then, the land was inhabited by the Twa. The Twa were pushed out
and forced to flee by the Hutu. The Tutsi invaded around the 15th century. They
came from the horn of Africa. Their takeover of the Hutu was generally
peaceful.

The Tutsi believed in a hierarchical society. So, they put in place a monarchy with
the mwami being the king and put in place a feudal system. The Hutu
signed contracts or ubihake with the Tutsi. These contracts pledged the Hutu and
his descendants services to the Tutsi in exchange for a loan of cattle
and arable land.

The first interaction the Hutu and the Tutsi had with colonial power was with the
Germans, who controlled the area from the 1890s to WW1. The Belgians
took control of the area in 1916 until after WW2. The 'Ruanda-Urundi' area became
a UN trust territory; the Belgians were the administrative authority
over the area. In 1948 the Belgians allowed the creation of 2 political parties; the
Union for National Progress (UPRONA) and the Christian Democratic
Party (PDC). The UPRONA was led by Tutsi President Louis Rwagsore, who was
assassinated after the UPRONAs victory in Burundi in the 1961 election. The
PDC was supported by the Belgians.

In the 1950s the Belgians began to increasingly encourage democratic political

parties. The Tutsi traditionalist party was greatly upset by this. They
believed that the democracy threatened the Tutsi monarchy. In 1959 the Hutu
overthrew the Tutsi monarchy in Rwanda. 160,000 Tutsi fled into the neighboring
countries. The Hutu Emancipation Movement (PARMEHUTU) gained power over the
Rwandan government in the 1961 elections.
urundi and Rwanda gained independence in 1962.

History of Hutu Tutsi Relations

The true cause of the Rwandan Genocide was the negative influence of the
European colonists on the relationship of the Hutus and Tutsis
The troubled and complex dynamics of the relationship between the Hutu and the
Tutsi far outdate the Rwandan Genocide. One must look back to the 14th century,
when the Tutsi first arrived in Rwanda in order to understand how tensions between
both sides culminated in a genocide.

For the purposes of understanding the Hutu-Tutsi relationship, let us consider the
Hutu or Bantu people to be the indigenous persons of the regions presently
known Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo. Let it be known that the area was also
inhabited by a shorter peoples known as the Twa.

Physical comparison of a Tutsi, Hutu and Twa

The Tutsi, or originally Cushite, people migrated to Rwanda from the southern
Ethiopian highlands, and were much taller and thinner in physique than the
Bantu or Twa. Throughout the entire history of their population of Rwanda, the Tutsi
have never exceeded 15% of the population. Despite their lack of numbers,
the Cushite people arrived as conquerors. The Cushite were cattle-herding warriors,
and they impressed their power upon the Bantu (and Twa) of the region.

By the 15th century, the Cushite had gained complete rule. They established an
pyramid-style political structure, with the head being an Mwami, a king
of supposedly divine origin. The reign of the Tutsi Mwami over Rwanda continued for
several hundred years very successfully. Hutus who were wealthy enough
were accepted as part of the elite along with the Tutsi, while poorer Hutus lived
quite comfortably to themselves, provided they pay a tax to the Mwami.
In brief, the Tutsi were in power and as such elevated themselves to higher class
than the Hutus . They utilized their status to extort taxes from the

poorer Hutus. One race was subservient to the other, but besides that, the
relationship remained relatively civil, until approximately the 19th century.

The 19th century brought with it two separate factors that increased racial tensions
between the Hutus and Tutsis. These factors were colonisation coupled
with land redistribution problems. The land problems created a system of patronage
known as Uburetwa or Ubuhake. These words mean to work for access to
land, and consequently, implementation of this system made the Hutus who were
not part of the nobility serfs that worked on the land. The relationship
between the Tutsi and the Hutu started to descend to crude lord-vassal interactions
at this point in history, and the arrival of the German colonists in
the late 1800s served to add to the problem, as they endorsed the Tutsis power
over the Hutus. The colonists did a lot to engender the future tensions
between the two races. Their worst contribution was racial science.

British Indian army officer John Hanning Speke was the creator of the racialist
hypothesis known as the Hamitic Theory. In his writings, Speke suggests
that the Tutsis are more European than the Hutus. Their caucasoid facial features,
combined with their smoother personalities was proof enough for him
that they were more cultured than the Hutus. This theory was basis for all racial and
cultural division between the Hutu and Tutsi in later years. It made
specific definition as to how one race was superior to the other, therefore giving
said superior race much power and influence.

Portrait-Of-John-Hanning-Speke

A portrait of John Hanning Speke, the man behind the Hamitic Theory

After World War I, Belgium was given control over Rwanda. The Belgians increased
the divide between the Hutus and Tutsis through the use of the eugenics,

which was rather popular at the time (i.e. Nazi Germany). Skull measurements
showing larger brain size, greater height, and lighter skin tones all reaffirmed
the Tutsis superiority over the Hutus, by providing proof of their apparent greater
purity and closer ancestry to Europeans.

The final step that Belgium took was implementing coffee production in Rwanda.
Peasant farmers, for the large part Hutus, were obligated to grow coffee
beans on their land on punishment of death from Tutsi officials in a system of corve
rule. Corve is a semantic that is one step higher than slavery.
The only difference is that in corve rule, the ruler does not own the servant
outright. For example, many Hutu farmers were subjected to a standard 10
lashes daily, before work, so as to remind them to maintain a solid work ethic.
Essentially, by the time of Rwandan independence in 1962, the Hutu were
an oppressed race, facing cruelty from a Tutsi elite, who were manipulated by the
colonists.

After World War II, Belgium took a different approach to Rwanda. In 1946, Rwanda,
then known as Rwanda-Urundi, became a UN trust territory, with Belgium
as the administrative authority. In the interest of increased democracy, and under
the auspices of the UN, Belgian elite and King Mutara Rudahigwa, the
Mwami at the time, started to integrate more Hutus into the administration. King
Rudahigwa also abolished the system of Ubuhake. Some Tutsi elite were
angered by this, because they assessed the situation as a threat to Tutsi rule
(arguably an astute observation).

Mwami Mutara Rudahigwa

By 1954, King Rudahigwa insisted total independence for Rwanda and the end of
the Belgian occupation. During the independence movement, under the influence
of the Roman Catholic Church, a Hutu catechist name Gregoire Kayibanda published
the Hutu Manifesto, a document that demanded that political authority

be granted to the Hutu majority (when the Belgians leave). This was the basis for
the ideology of Hutu Power during the genocide. The Church further encouraged
Kayibanda and his associates to form political parties. This resulted in the creation
of two political parties that championed Hutu interests: APROSOMA
(LAssociation pour la Promotion Social des Masses) and RADER (La Rassemblement
Democratique Rwandais). During this time of political upheaval, King Rudahigwa
mysteriously perished in Bujumbura, Burundi. Common speculation is that Belgian
elite were involved in his death. Rudihigawa was succeeded by his half
brother, King Kigeli V Dahindurwa. At this time a third political party, Parmahetu
(Parti du Mouvement de lEmanicpation Hutu) came to the forefront. They
were also formed under the direction of the Catholic church, by proponents of
independence, who were also openly anti-Tutsi. While the politics of Rwanda
wass undergoing radical change, Belgian Commando Colonel, G. Logiest, organized
a large group Hutus and killed thousands of Tutsis and forced the exile
of hundreds of thousands others. Soon, King Kigeli was also forced into exile, having
reigned for only a few months. The newly democratized Rwanda held
an election in 1960. Many believed that the Belgians tampered in the results, but
ultimately Parmehetu won, and their leader, the aforementioned Gregoire
Kayibanda became Prime Minister of the provisional government. On September
25th of the same year, the UN held a referendum in Rwanda in order to determine
whether the monarchy should be abolished. Through the referendum process, the
abolition of the monarchy won the popular vote, and thus ended the reign
of the Tutsi Mwami in Rwanda. This gave the Hutus the position of power through
Gregoire Kayibanda, the new President and Prime Minister. In 1962, the
Belgians left Rwanda and it was officially declared an independent state.

With a Hutu led government in place, after hundreds of years of Tutsi rule, the roles
reversed. During Kayibandas tenure as leader, there was an increasing
exodus of Tutsi from Rwanda into neighbouring nations. Hutu power quickly became
centralized and all Tutsis were removed from positions of power. At this
point, Tutsi rebellions occurred, which all failed, and Tutsi killings began. Under
President Kayibanda, anti-Tutsi legislature was passed, such as the

10% quota for Tutsis, which applied to school and university seats, and the civil
service.

Gregoire Kayibanda

In 1965, Gregoire Kayibanda was re-elected and Juvenal Habyarimana became

Minister of Defence. In 1969, Parmehetu was renamed MDR (Mouvement
Democratique
Republicaine) and Kayibanda was once again re-elected, despite accusations that
the election was not valid. During this entire period, Tutsi killings continued.

In 1973, Major General Habyarimana topples the Kayibanda government in a

smooth military coup. But effectively, the policies and views of the government
remain the same, and Tutsi killings continue. The violent attacks even intensify
when in 1974, there is public outcry (mainly Hutu) that there was Tutsi
overrepresentation in elite fields such as education and medicine. Many Tutsi
professionals are forced into resignation and exile. In 1975, President Habyarimana
established the MRND (Mouvement Revolutionaire et National pour le
Developpement), the ruling party from 1975 through to 1994 and during the
genocide.
The widespread killings of Tutsis continue, and increase with advent of the
government paid militia, the Interahamwe, which were a militant wing of the
MNRD.

Juvenal Habyarimana

In 1978, President Habyarimana introduced a new constitution that entrenched

MNRD as the sole political party, banning all others. In direct response,
in 1979 Rwandan Tutsi exiles in Kenya formed RANU (Rwandan Alliance for National
Unity). Their objectives included the welfare of Rwandan Tutsi refugees

and supporting the struggle against the MNRD in Rwanda. By 1987, RANU grew, and
they renamed themselves the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Forces). Just three
years later in 1990, the RPF began an armed struggle against the MNRD, which was
the Rwandan Civil War, a precursor to the genocide. In 1991, the violence
became so severe that both sides sign NSele Ceasefire Agreement in order to work
out something for peace. Despite this, widespread Tutsi killings in Rwanda
continued during this time in locations such as Kibirira, Bigogwe, Bugesera, and
Kibuye. During this ceasefire, on August 4th, 1993, the Arusha Peace Accords
were ratified by both parties. The accord stated that a transitional government
would be instituted giving both the MNRD and the RPF power. It seemed as
if peace had been brokered.

Seven months later, in April of 1994, the terms of the Arusha Accords had yet to be
implemented, when President Habyarimanas plane was shot down and he
was killed. The MNRD and other Hutu interest parties pinned the blame on Tutsi
cockroaches. They spread propaganda messages of Tutsi hate and Hutu power
throughout the media. This quickly instigated the Rwandan Genocide. The genocide
was 100 days of horrific massacre of Tutsis and other innocent Rwandans
by the Interahamwe Hutu militia. Millions of lives were lost in the genocide, and the
UN did nothing to stop it. Their mandate was immensely inadequate
for the situation. They only recognized the Rwandan massacre as a genocide after
extensive investigation by the UN High Commission of Human Rights, long
after it mattered.

By examining the history of the Hutu-Tutsi relationship, one is able better

understand the Rwandan Genocide. It is a possible conclusion that the unique
culture of the old cattle-herding warriors of the southern Ethiopian highlands, the
Cushite, lead to hundreds of years of Tutsi tyranny over the indigenous
Hutus, creating a lingering resentment amongst them, which created racial tensions
that led to the Rwandan Genocide. However, it would be far better, more
accurate and succinct to conclude that the Rwandan Genocide was the direct result
of the negative influences of European colonists on Rwanda. The Europeans

manipulated the Tutsi elite into the oppression of the Hutu, and thus created a
lingering resentment within the Hutu. They then helped the Hutu usurp power
from the Tutsi, and conveniently left the scene, permitting the establishment of a
regime of Hutu power, in which their would be frequent massacres of
Tutsi. This combined with Tutsi rebellions, culminated in the Rwandan Genocide.
Analyzed carefully, it is clear that the relationship of the Hutus and
Tutsis were nowhere as strained before the European colonists arrived. Despite the
Hutus being subservient, their relationship with the Tutsi was relatively
comfortable. The colonists were the factor that soured the relationship, and led to
the Rwandan Genocide.

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11 thoughts on History of Hutu Tutsi Relations

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kelsie eleby
June 3, 2013 at 7:16 pm
This is some very good history to know!

Reply to kelsie eleby

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article
Lambert
October 5, 2013 at 12:52 pm
Important is both of them are humans and deserves to live the enjoyable life.
None supposed to be on top of the other forget about the past because it looks like
their past can never build a future if things are going as theyre
presented here.
Both had enough time to show off. Now its time to end all the me and build a new
society teach their children the true meaning of life not super race
or something stupid.
If only they could understand what humans are supposed to be they couldnt be
pushing one another.

The History of Hutu and Tutsi Conflicts

Hutu and Tutsi are two groups in Africa that became known to most in other parts
of the world through the grisly 1994 Rwanda genocide, but the history
of conflict between the two ethnic groups reaches back further than that.

Generally, the Hutu-Tutsi strife stems from class warfare, with the Tutsis perceived
to have greater wealth and social status (as well as favoring cattle
ranching over what is seen as the
lower-class farming of the Hutus).
The Tutsis are thought to have originally come from Ethiopia, and arrived after the
Hutu came from Chad.

Burundi, 1972: The seeds of resentment for the minority Tutsis were sown when
the first elections after winning independence in May 1965 saw
strong Hutu
wins, but the king appointed a Tutsi friend prime minister, sparking a failed coup
attempt by Hutus. Even though this was quickly quelled in the capital,
it set off additional violence between the two ethnicities in the countryside. In
addition, Tutsis, which made up about 15 percent of the population to
the 80 percent Hutus, occupied other key government and military positions.

On April 27, some Hutu policemen rebelled, killing all Tutsis and Hutus (estimates
range from 800 to 1,200 dead) who refused to join the rebellion in the
lakeside towns of Rumonge and Nyanza-Lac. The leaders of the rebellion have
been described as radicalized Hutu intellectuals who operated out of Tanzania.

The
Tutsi president,
Michel Micombero, responded by declaring martial law and putting the wheels of a
Hutu genocide in otion. The first phase virtually wiped out the educated
Hutu (by June, nearly 45 percent of teachers were reported missing; students at
technical schools were targeted, as well), and by the time the carnage
was done in May about 5 percent of the population had been killed: estimates
range from 100,000 to up to 300,000 Hutu.

Burundi, 1993: The Hutus won the presidential office with banker Melchior
Ndadaye, forming the first government since independence from Belgium in 1962
with elections that had been agreed to by the ruling Tutsis, but Ndadaye was
assassinated shortly thereafter. The killing of the president threw the country
back into turmoil, claiming about 25,000 Tutsi civilians in revenge killings. This
sparked killings of Hutu, resulting in a total death toll of about 50,000
over the next several months. The mass killings of the Tutsi wouldn't be called a
genocide by the United Nations until a 2002 inquiry.

Rwanda, 1994: In April 1994 Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira, a Hutu,

and Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana, also a Hutu, were killed when their
plane was shot down. By this time, tens of thousands of Hutus had fled the Burundi
violence into Rwanda. Blame for the assassination has been pointed at
both Tutsi and Hutu extremists;
current Rwandan
President Paul Kagame, who at the time led a Tutsi rebel group, has said that the
Hutu extremists conducted the rocket attack to set in motion their long-laid-out

plans to wipe out the Tutsis. These

genocidal plans
were hatched not just at cabinet meetings, but spread in media incitement, and
capped a long period of ethnic unrest in Rwanda.

Between April and July, some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed, with
a militia group called he Interahamwe taking lead in the slaughter. Sometimes
Hutus were forced to kill their Tutsi neighbors; other participants in the genocide
were given monetary incentives. The
United Nations
let the killings go on unabated after 10 Belgian peacekeepers were killed in the
early days of the genocide.

Democratic Republic of Congo,

post-Rwandan Genocide to the present:
Many Hutu
militants who participated in the Rwandan genocide fled to the Congo in 1994,
setting up encampments in the mountainous areas akin to fiefdoms. In addition,
several groups of Hutu fighting the Tutsi-dominated government of Burundi settled
in the eastern part of the country. Rwanda's Tutsi government has twice
invaded with the intention of wiping out the Hutu militants. The Hutu also battle a
Tutsi rebel leader, General Laurent Nkunda, and his forces. Up to five
million deaths have been caused by the years of fighting in the Congo. The
Interahamwe now call themselves the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Rwanda and use the country as a staging base to overthrow Kagame in Rwanda.
One of the group's commanders told the Daily Telegraph in 2008, We are fighting

every day because we are Hutu and they are Tutsis. We cannot mix, we are always
in conflict. We will stay enemies forever."