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| Culture of Burundi |
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The culture of Burundi is based on local tradition and common influence with its neighbors.
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of Burundi |
|---|
| |
| People |
| Languages |
| Cuisine |
| Religion |
| Art |
| Music |
| Sport |
The culture of Burundi is based on local tradition and common influence with its neighbors.
Although referred to as ethnic groups the Hutu, the Tutsi, the Twa, and the Ganwa all share the same culture, language and land. In Kirundi, the national language of Burundi, these ethnic groups are called miryango, which can be translated to clans or tribe. [1]
Before colonization Burundi and Rwanda formed one kingdom, Ruanda-Urundi. The Burundian part of society was ruled by Kings also called Mwami. [2] There are no records of discrimination during this time. Every clan was involved in royal duties, for inclusion purposes. While there were physical differences between clans, they all shared to same customs and beliefs. [3]
Burundi's colonization started in the early 19th century, which is later than most African countries. [3] First, German colonizers were assigned Rwanda and Burundi at the Berlin Conference of 1884/1885. [1] Belgians than took over the colony after the World War I. Both colonizers implemented Christianity and a new hierarchical order, by making traditional ceremonies illegal and by creating a hierarchical order between clans. [3]
Burundi and Rwanda experienced multiple civil wars after their independence, and policies that were put in place by colonizers were kept. Hutus were subjugated to forced labor controlled by Tutsi clans. This created persistent underdevelopment of the clans and tensions that created civil wars. [4]
Burundi gained its independence in 1962, [4] but there are still post-colonial institutions present in a variety of traditional cultural and political centers. [5] Christianism is the main religion in the country, there are two main groups catholic and protestant, but there is also Islam, and different types of animism. [4]
In the Burundian population all clans still mainly speak Kirundi, and colonialism brought French and English. French is used by society in private and government institutions for communication, knowledge acquisition, and cultural production. Which undermines the local language and limits the population that can access these institutions. [6]
Burundi has a wide range of music, from traditional percussions to modern music. Drums are the main instruments in Burundi, because of the heritage of the Royal Drummers of Burundi, a group of musicians that play the instrument, sing and dance. In the precolonial period, the drummers would often play for the Kings and royal families, Royal drummers would announce the beginning of the day and the ending of the day. They would also play during special spiritual events such as enthronements or the beginning of the agricultural season. To this day, Burundians still celebrate important events with drummers. [4] The Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO in 2014 added the drummers' practices to their list. [7]
In 2017, a decree was passed by the government, legally banned women from beating drums as it was explained to be a men's activity, despite the centuries-long tradition of female drum-players in the country. [7]
Burundian women greet each other in an interlocking rhythmic vocal form called akazehe. [8]
In the 1990s, Burundi had several private media companies that started broadcasting government events and started to publish subjects considered taboo like political violence and corruption. [9] It started a liberation movement that resulted in tensions between the government and the media. As most private media companies were and are funded by foreign aid, the government tried to exercise control by cutting the maximum funds that these companies could receive, obligating the companies to monitor the population, and making it legally difficult to have freedom of speech. [10]
During the 1972 genocide, many Burundians involved in higher education were killed, stalling written culture. This combined with the lower literacy rate have encouraged an adherence to Burundi's strong oral tradition, which relays history and life lessons through storytelling, poetry, and song. This is evident in kivivuga amazina, an improvisational poetry contest played by cattle herders, in which they boast their abilities or accomplishments.
Football is a popular pastime throughout the country, as are mancala games. Many Burundians celebrate Christian holidays and Burundian Independence Day, though the largest celebration occurs on New Year's Day with feasting and traditional drumming and dancing.
Burundi's women's national volleyball team lastly qualified for the 2021 Women's African Nations Volleyball Championship. [11]
Burundian cuisine utilises maize and bananas as staple foods and often contains red kidney beans. [12] Meals are not usually accompanied by sweet foods or dessert. During celebrations and gatherings, Burundians drink homemade banana wine and beer, sometimes drinking through straws from a single large container.
In some areas, brochettes and frites are a popular remnant of the Belgian colonial period. The presence of Lake Tanganyika adds fish such as ngangara and mukeke to Burundian cuisine. A national brewery produces Primus and Amstel beers. [13]
In the public education system of Burundi, only one student out of 100 will be able to attend university. The public elementary schools are mostly taught in Kirundi with a few French classes, and secondary schools and universities are taught in French. It creates difficulties that result in the alienation of local communities, affecting girls more than boys. Recently Burundi has added Kiswahili and English to the curriculum, creating an even wider gap in the population. For the past decade, there has been a shortage of staff, faculty, and material in the public sector as well. [14]
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The Hutu, also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great Lakes Twa.
The Tutsi, also called Watusi, Watutsi 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.
Kirundi, also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language and the national language of Burundi. It is a dialect of Rwanda-Rundi dialect continuum that is also spoken in Rwanda and adjacent parts of Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, as well as in Kenya. Kirundi is mutually intelligible with Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda, and the two form parts of the wider dialect continuum known as Rwanda-Rundi.
Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge was the penultimate king (mwami) of Burundi who ruled between 1915 and 1966. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father Mutaga IV Mbikije. Born while Burundi was under German colonial rule, Mwambutsa's reign mostly coincided with Belgian colonial rule (1916–62). The Belgians retained the monarchs of both Rwanda and Burundi under the policy of indirect rule.
The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first multi-party elections in the country since its independence from Belgium in 1962, and is seen as formally ending with the swearing-in of President Pierre Nkurunziza in August 2005. Children were widely used by both sides in the war. The estimated death toll stands at 300,000.
The Kingdom of Burundi, also known as Kingdom of Urundi, was a Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Republic of Burundi. The Ganwa monarchs ruled over both Hutus and Tutsis. Created in the 16th century, the kingdom was preserved under German and Belgian colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th century and was an independent state between 1962 and 1966.
Marguerite (Maggie) Barankitse is a Burundian humanitarian activist who works to improve the welfare of children and challenge ethnic discrimination in Burundi. After rescuing 25 children from a massacre, she was forced to witness the conflicts between the Hutu and Tutsi in her country in 1993. She established Maison Shalom, a shelter that provided access to healthcare, education, and culture to over 20,000 orphan children in need. Because she protested against a third term for President Pierre Nkurunziza, she lives in exile.
Mass killings of Tutsis were conducted by the majority-Hutu populace in Burundi from 21 October to December 1993, under an eruption of ethnic animosity and riots following the assassination of Burundian President Melchior Ndadaye in an attempted coup d'état. The massacres took place in all provinces apart from Makamba and Bururi, and were primarily undertaken by Hutu peasants. At many points throughout, Tutsis took vengeance and initiated massacres in response.
Islam is a minority religion in Burundi where approximately 90 percent of the national population are followers of Christianity. Between 2–5 percent of the population identifies as Muslim, according to a 2010 estimate by the United States Department of State. The same year, the Pew Research Centre estimated that there were 230,000 Muslims in Burundi, equivalent to 2.8 percent of Burundi's 8.4 million inhabitants.
Education is compulsory in Burundi for the six years between the ages of seven and 13. Theoretically, primary education is free at point of use.
Burundi traditionally had two official languages: Kirundi and French. English became the third official language of the country in 2014. Of these, only Kirundi is spoken by the vast majority of the population. It is recognised as the national language by the Burundian constitution of 2005.
Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with population of over 14 million people. It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and southeast, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; Lake Tanganyika lies along its southwestern border. The capital city is Gitega and the largest city is Bujumbura.
Ethnic groups in Burundi include the three main indigenous groups of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa that have largely been emphasized in the study of the country's history due to their role in shaping it through conflict and consolidation. Burundi's ethnic make-up is similar to that of neighboring Rwanda. Additionally, recent immigration has also contributed to Burundi's ethnic diversity. Throughout the country's history, the relation between the ethnic groups has varied, largely depending on internal political, economic and social factors and also external factors such as colonialism. The pre-colonial era, despite having divisions between the three groups, saw greater ethnic cohesion and fluidity dependent on socioeconomic factors. During the colonial period under German and then Belgian rule, ethnic groups in Burundi experienced greater stratifications and solidification through biological arguments separating the groups and indirect colonial rule that increased group tensions. The post-independence Burundi has experienced recurring inter-ethnic violence especially in the political arena that has, in turn, spilled over to society at large leading to many casualties throughout the decades. The Arusha Agreement served to end the decades-long ethnic tensions, and the Burundian government has stated commitment to creating ethnic cohesion in the country since, yet recent waves of violence and controversies under the Pierre Nkurunziza leadership have worried some experts of potential resurfacing of ethnic violence. Given the changing nature of ethnicity and ethnic relations in the country, many scholars have approached the topic theoretically to come up with primordial, constructivist and mixed arguments or explanations on ethnicity in Burundi.
Burundian nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Burundi, as amended; the Nationality Code of Burundi, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Burundi. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Burundian nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Burundi or abroad to parents with Burundian nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.
The commune of Buyenzi is a historic commune (District) of Bujumbura Mairie Province in western Burundi. The district is known for its Swahili heritage and influence not just in Bujumbura but Burundi as a whole. Buyenzi communie is laid on a grid plan and has 25 horizontal numbered streets.
Baho! is a novel by Roland Rugero published in France in 2012, and translated into English by Christopher Schaefer in 2015. It is the first Burundian novel to be translated into English. The story is set in the fictional village of Hariho, following a young mute boy named Nyamuragi. When his attempts to find a bathroom are misunderstood as sexual advances, Nyamuragi finds himself voiceless due both to his disability and the hasty persecution of his wrongful convictions.
Roland Rugero is a Burundian author, journalist, and director. His second work Baho! is the second Burundian novel to ever be translated to English. His work on promoting Burundian culture has led him to be recognized internationally in such programs as the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.
The Ikiza, or the Ubwicanyi (Killings), was a series of mass killings—often characterised as a genocide—which were committed in Burundi in 1972 by the Tutsi-dominated army and government, primarily against educated and elite Hutus who lived in the country. Conservative estimates place the death toll of the event between 100,000 and 150,000 killed, while some estimates of the death toll go as high as 300,000.
Marie-Louise Sibazuri is a Burundian women's rights activist and teacher who has devoted her time to writing since 1993. In addition to becoming a prolific playwright, she is widely known as the author of the popular radio series Umumbanyi Niwe Muryango, a soap opera which sets out to improve relations between Tutsis and Hutus following the conflicts of the mid-1990s. After spending several years in Belgium where she was active in the theatre, she has now moved to Australia with her second husband, Hilaire Bucumi. She is currently writing collections of Burundian folk tales.
Gilles Bimazubute was a Burundian politician.
