Twa

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For the defunct airline TWA, see Trans World Airlines.

The Twa are a pygmy people, of short stature, who were the oldest recorded inhabitants of the Great Lakes region of central Africa that now comprises the nations of Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are also known as Batwa.

When the Hutu, a Bantu people, arrived in the region, they subjugated the Twa. Around the 15th century AD, the Tutsi, a Bantu people, subsequently arrived 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

• Baka
• Aka

Researchers who studied pygmy culture and music:

• Colin Turnbull
• Simha Arom
• Mauro Campagnoli

External links

• [Pygmies of Central Africa] with photos and ethnographic notes

 

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