Tutsi Information

The Tutsi (pronounced TOOT-se) were the people targeted in the Rwanda genocide. There are approximately 2-3 million estimated Tutsies and the majority of them live in Rwanda, Burundi, or the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their primary languages are Kinyarwanda and Kirundi. These two languages are different dialects of each other, so they are extremely similar. Kinyarwanda is spoken in Rwanda and Kirundi is spoken in Burundi. This language is similar to other Bantu languages because they both use nouns with prefixes (so each part of the word means a different thing and when you put the whole word together you have a phrase). Many of them also speak English and French. They speak French because it was the language of the Belgians who had ruled them many years ago. French is used in schools and it is common for Tutsi people to have a French first name. Many Tutsies who have been refugees in Uganda (which is common) learn English during their time there.
The Tutsi people have been influenced by Christian missionaries over time, and therefore their main religion is Christianity (mainly Roman Catholic and Protestant) combined with their traditional beliefs. One tradition belief is the belief in Imaana, which is "the distant creator" and he can grant fertility and wealth. It is believed that the king shares these same powers. The people communicate with Imaana through the spirits of dead relatives, called abazima. The holidays that are celebrated by the Tutsi correlate to the Christian religion, including Christmas and Easter. National holidays are also observed, including Independence Day, May Day, and New Year's Day. Traditional celebrations included dancing, sacred drumming, and costumes. However, holidays that involved these rituals are no longer celebrated.
The traditional occupation of the Tutsi people is cattle herding and farming. Cattle is their symbol of wealth.
Social status is a central part of Tutsi's lives. It affects their posture, body movements, and way of speaking. People in lower class are allowed to show their emotions, but the people of the upper class must act in a more dignified manner and not express their feelings. Currently, Tutsi people may choose who they want to marry (in the past this was not allowed). However, when the genocide started in Rwanda, there were many mixed families of Tutsi and Hutu and therefore many people had to make a choice of whether to stay behind with their Hutu family or runaway to save their lives.

(Picture: a group of Tutsi men)

Sources:
http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Brazil-to-Congo-Republic-of/Tutsi.html
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580656/tutsi.html http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0032229.html http://www.africarte.it/foto-storiche/Tutsi.JPG