Belgium in Control

Before the Europeans arrived in Rwanda, the elite group of Rwandans was the Tutsi people (also known as Batutsi), who were cattle herders and military chiefs. The rest of the population was made up of Hutu (or Bahutu) and Twa (or Batwa) peasant farmers. (1) Although the relationship between the king and current population was unequal, the relationship between  the Tutsi, Hutu ad Twa was beneficial for both parties. There was respect between the different groups. (1)

"In 1899 Rwanda became a German colony" (1). But following World War I, Rwanda became under the administration of Belgium in 1919. So during this colonial period that Rwanda was under the control of Germany and Belgium, a cash crop system was introduced (1).

In short, European involvement in Rwanda has been a massive agent in the direction that the country has taken for over 100 years. I say this because to this day there is wide spread division and racism amongst the Tutsi and Hutu people. At first, Belgium favored the wealthy elite Tutsi. However, when the demand for independence began (majorly supported by the leading Tutsi) Belgium decided to favor the Hutu instead. Then in 1959, "the first massacres of the Tutsi occurred at the hands of the Hutu political party and under the authority of Belgium" (1). It has been an ongoing battle ever since.

According to Eyes on Africa (2), the actual first European visitors to Rwanda were Portuguese explorers who were following slave trader routes inland throughout Africa. Alongside the conquest and colonialization of Rwanda came with it a definite religious aspect. Roman Catholicism and Protestantism were introduced, and are now the prominent religions in the nation. That brought with it certain understandings of gospel and Jesus, but seemingly little understanding of the term “Prince of Peace” or peacemaker. While Christianity can and should be a very peaceful religion, Germany and Belgium introduced a version of Christianity that also added extra elements such as control, abuse of power and ranking the worth of certain people groups. All of these things, I believe Jesus would take grave issue with (pun intended)!

Bibliography:

1. .  Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Pre-Colonial and Colonial. Rwanda Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. 2010. http://www.minaffet.gov.rw/index.php?id=935

2.  Eyes on Africa Ltd. Rwanda History and General Information. 2015. http://www.eyesonafrica.net/african-safari-rwanda/rwanda-info.htm

Resources of Rwanda

Rwanda is an amazing country with many different exports. Although Rwanda's exports don't bring in a substantial amount of profit for the country, they are still many different wonderful natural resources that Rwanda offers.

Their main exports, and most profitable exports, currently are coffee and tea. This is interesting to me personally because my husband and I recently started a coffee roasting company in SE Oklahoma. Although we don't import a lot from Rwanda, there is a lot of information within the coffee community about what soil types and geographical environments are more likely to grow the best beans. My husband and I have studied coffee for five years, and places like Rwanda have ideal growing conditions with their mild temperatures, volcanic soils, high altitude and steep slopes in the hills. Coffee plants grow ideally in hills where parts of the plant overshadow the fruit. “The combination of steep slopes, abundant rainfall, deforestation, and intensive farming has set in motion a process of extreme soil erosion” (Clay, Rwanda, 2015) 1.

Coffee, which was first introduced by European missionaries, has been a major cash crop in Rwanda for many years. And throughout history, when a worldwide plummet in coffee prices would occur, it would affect Rwandan economy drastically. Other crops that are grown in Rwanda include "pyrethrum, bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tobacco and corn" (Countries and Their Cultures, Rwanda, )2.  

Animals such as cows, goats, rabbits, sheep and pigs are grown in Rwanda, but things like water shortages and regular disease epidemics are major hindrances for national output of agriculture.

Rwanda also mines for many different minerals. Some of these minerals include gold, sapphires, cassiterite, tungsten and coltan. The Iron Age hit Central Africa around 3,000 years ago.  "Iron was probably used for small, valuable objects such as razors, needles, and knives. As the smelting technique became more commonplace, iron came to be used for cutlasses, axes, and, eventually, hoes, which replaced the old wooden digging sticks." (Birmingham, Central Africa, 2015) 3. 

Photo- (Pilgrim, Plantains) 4.

Early pre-colonial Rwandan culture shifted from a hunter-gatherer way of life (10,000 years ago) to a lifestyle of farming. This was true of much of Central Africa when the arrival of the banana family of plants arrived. “Banana plants, like yam tubers, were propagated by cuttings and roots rather than by seeds, but they gradually spread from neighbour to neighbour until the crop had become a dominant one in many parts of Central Africa.” (Clay, Rwanda, 2015), 1. The two primary banana plants used were vegetable bananas, plantains, and sweet bananas that were brewed into beer.  (Clay, Rwanda, 2015), 1.

Bibliography-

1.  Daniel Clay, “Rwanda.” Encyclopaedia Brittanica, (June 2015), http://www.britannica.com/place/Rwanda
2. Countries and Their Cultures, "Rwanda." Advameg Inc. (2015) http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Rwanda.html

3.  David Birmingham, “Central Africa.” Encyclopaedia Brittanica, (July 2015) http://www.britannica.com/place/central-Africa/The-Iron-Age

4. Timothy Pilgrim, "Plantains" Wikipedia Commons,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bananavarieties.jpg#/media/File:Bananavarieties.jpg

Rwandan Religion

More than half of Rwandan population is currently Roman Catholic while another 25%-30% is Protestant. There are a growing number of Seventh Day Adventists and a very small number of Muslims, while less than a percent currently participates in other indigenous religions. This large number of Catholics and Protestants is significant throughout history, and certainly for the current reality of the state.  One reason it is significant is because it was the Roman Catholic missionaries in the colonial-era that helped encourage and even introduce the idea of Tutsi superiority, and then later Hutu superiority. So the church, very much, has played into the racial dispute that has gone on for hundreds of years.

                

According to the Dictionary of African Christian Biography, “Rwanda was one of the last areas of Africa to receive Christian missionaries.” (1.) The first Catholic mission was started in 1900 and German Lutherans began work in Rwanda in 1908, but were expelled during the first world war.

                

Pre-Colonial Rwanda fell into a cast system. The highest of the caste system was the king of the Tutsi clan, and he was known as the Mwami. The Mwami was believed to be of divine origin. A famous myth that I found in many places of research, including African Myths of Origin is the story of three children who each grew in a pot filled with milk. Each of the children fell from heaven to a woman who was unable to bear children. She was begging and paying Imana (the tribal god) for a child. It is believed that one of the three children was Kigwa, who founded the elite Tutsi clan. (2.) Later on when Catholicism made its way into Rwanda, the Hutu and Tutsi people were taught that there was a different inherent value placed on them. The Rwandan people believed it and the Church confirmed it. It is such a tragedy for the nation of Rwanda.

Bibliography

1.       Kevin Ward, “A Brief History of the Church in Rwanda” 2008. http://www.dacb.org/history/rwanda-briefhistory.htm

2.       Stephen Belcher, African Myths of Origin, (London, England, the Penguin Group, 2005), 182-191.

Celebrating the Arts

Throughout history, music and dance have been a very important way for Rwandans to pass down tradition and celebrate during festivals and simply as a form of storytelling. Since much of Rwandas history has been passed down without being written on paper, there are many beautiful ways of expression that Rwandans keep tradition alive.

Dance tradition in Rwanda is particularly fascinating. Young men in the royal court were trained in a form of martial dancing. This most famous traditional dance is called the Intore and it is divided into three main parts: the ballet of women, the men's "dance of heroes", and finally, the drums. Drums are an essential part of Rwandan musical history and are one of the more valuable instruments in their culture.

The Intore dance has been preserved, in spite of the fall of the monarchy, through the creation of a national dance troupe. It is also taught in school for younger children.

Another way that Rwanda's history has been preserved and passed down is through the beautiful baskets woven by the Tutsi people.

These two photos are preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My family was fortunate to visit last fall and see many amazing creations from this region in Africa.

www.metmuseum.org

In Rwanda, woven receptacles and other architectural elements were the most common form of artistic expression. The baskets were hand made from grass-like plants that were found throughout the mountainous landscape.

Among the Tutsi elite, basketry jobs were gender specific. Men would build dwellings and other large structures and women would build more refined woven artifacts such as floor mats and baskets. They would even give very small baskets to each other for gifts.

Depending on what was being created, the weaving method varied greatly. Some would use a spiral frame while others would use a frame and cover.

Sadly, the social upheaval of the 1990's led to the destruction of many earlier pieces of art throughout history. But there is currently a great movement across Rwanda to re-develop the arts. Many different organizations are encouraging peaceful problem solving through artistic expression, ie. painting, music, and sculpture. Inemaartscenter.com is a wonderful place to find some of the current art culture in Rwanda, which I believe is a necessary tool used for healing the wounds of war.

Rebuilding the Ruins

I have chosen Rwanda as my African nation country to study during this course particularly because the war and genocide that has gone on in this region has been of interest to me for several years. The Republic of Rwanda is a nation in central and east Africa. It has Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo as neighboring countries, and it is located a few degrees south of the equator.

It is a subtropical country with mountains, savanna, and lakes throughout. Rwanda has three ethnic groups that make up its population and they include the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa (who are a forest dwelling, pygmy group).

The main language spoken in Rwanda is Kinyarwanda. However, English and French both serve as the official languages. Rwanda's population is relatively young and it's population density is one of the highest in Africa.

A civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi in 1990. And it led to a genocide that killed roughly 800,000 Tutsi and many Hutu. Paul Kagame became president in 2000. And according to worldatlas.com, "The country has made a remarkable recovery under the leadership of Kagame, and is now considered to be a model for developing countries." The average income has tripled over the last ten years and the economic growth throughout the nation has stabilized. Many positive things are to be said about how the Republic of Rwanda is recovering from such a seemingly hopeless situation.

Bibliography-

WorldAtlas.com. 2015. http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/rw.htm