Twa
From Freepedia
- (For the airline TWA, see Trans World Airlines)
The Twa are a pygmy people, of short stature, who were the oldest recorded inhabitants of an area in central Africa that now comprises the nations of Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
When the Hutu, a Bantu-derived people, arrived in the region, they dominated the Twa. Around the 15th century AD, the Tutsi, a Bantu people, subsequently arrived, possibly from Ethiopia, 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. They are often ignored in discussions about the conflict between Hutus and Tutsis, which reached its height in the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
See also
Other Pygmy groups
Researchers who studied pygmy culture and music:
External links
- Pygmies of Central Africa with photos and ethnographic notes
Categories: Africa-related stubs | African Pygmies | Ethnic groups of Rwanda | Ethnic groups of Burundi | Ethnic groups of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Indigenous peoples of Central Africa
