Indigenous World 2020: Burundi

Written on 07 May 2020. Posted in Burundi

The term “Twa” is used to describe minority populations historicallymarginalisedbothpoliticallyandsociallyintheDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. It has replaced the name “Pygmy”, which was coined by the colonialmissionariesandwhichisoffensivetothesegroups.

In Burundi, the Twa are considered one of three componentsofthepopulation(Hutu,TutsiandTwa).Theyareestimated at between 100,000 and 200,000 individuals although it isdifficult to establish a precise figure. There has, in fact, been no official ethnic census since the 1930s and, in any case, particularly in the case of Burundi, such figures are inaccurate(mixed race marriages, porous borders between the different populationgroups…).Moreover,mostTwadonothaveanational identity card and are thus not included when drawing up the census.

Former hunter/gatherers, the Twa were gradually expelled from their forests following different waves of deforestationand forestry protection over the centuries. This phenomenon hasredefinedthispeople’swayoflife:“Astheforestwasturned intopastureandfields,somanyBatwacametodependonpottery that this replaced the forest and hunting as a symbol ofBatwaidentity.”

During the first part of the 20th century, emerging industrialisation in Burundi, the gradual opening up of the country to international trade and greater access to clay products resultedinaconsiderableweakeningoftheirpotterytrade.Themain economicactivityoftheTwa wasthusagainundermined,turning them into some of the most vulnerable people inBurundi.

The term indigeneity takes on a particular dimension in theBurundiancontextgiventhatidentity-basedclaimsamong the different population components have resulted in numerousconflictsandmassacresoverthelastdecades.Theseconflicts, all too often analysed as ethnic divisions, in fact arise more from a reconstruction of identities and political tensions. In this context, recognition of Twa indigeneity has been the subjectofdiscussion,evencontroversy,particularlyintheearly2000s. Burundi abstained, for example, from adopting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007.

The end of the Burundian civil war (2005) and the gradual emergence of an international Indigenous Peoples’ movement have both, however, contributed to placing the issue of the Twa on the agenda. Since 2005, following the establishment of ethnic statistics, the Twa now enjoy representation in the country’s main decision-making bodies.

The events that have affected this community over the past year demonstrate, however, that despite the dynamic nature of local and international associations aimed at defending the Twa, and a relative desire for their political integration, they remain highly vulnerable in both economic and political terms.

This article is part of the 34^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is from the Peruvian Amazon inside the Wampis territory, taken by Pablo Lasansky, and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2020 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2020 in full here

2019, towards greater mobilisation of the Twa in Burundi

2019 was marked in particular by the appointment of the former Twa Senator, Vital Bambanze, to membership of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, nominated by the African governments.¹TheappointmentofanIndigenousBurundianrepresentative by the UN’s African governments confirms the progress that has been made in recognising Indigenous Peoples’ rights on the African continentandshowsthedynamicinteractionstakingplacebetweentheTwa movementsinBurundiandtheinternationalIndigenousmovement.

This convergence of local Twa mobilisations and international Indigenous Peoples’ events is well illustrated by the holding of celebrationsforIndigenousPeoples’Day,aneventwhichisnoworganisedeach year in Burundi by local associations. In 2019, it took place on 9 August in Zege, Gitega province, and was focused on the preservation ofIndigenous languages, echoing the United Nations’ proclamation of 2019 as “International Year of Indigenous Languages”.² In Burundi, all nationals share the same language, Kirundi, but the associations organising the event nonetheless decided to focus on this issue despite the lack ofan Indigenous language in Burundi. This was both to coincide with the focus of the international movement and to highlight the particular accent³ the Twa have when they speak Kirundi.

The cultural features that make up the Twa’s collective identity have also formed the object of a UNESCO-funded project on Twa intangible heritage, in partnership between the association UNIPROBA4 (Uniting for Batwa Promotion in Burundi) and the University of Burundi. Surveys were fed back into the process5 in Bujumbura in September 2019withtheaimofproducinganinventoryoftheparticularfeaturesof the Twa’s intangibleheritage.

Finally, the prospect of elections in May  2020,  particularly  for  the presidency, encouraged a discussion to be held in August 2019 in Bujumbura between the different Twa associations and government members.⁶ The aim was to inform the Twa representatives of how to voteandalsohowtheycouldstandinthecomingelections.

Mixed balance for the year overall

ThedesiretobetterintegratetheTwaintothe2020electoralprocesses does, however, need to go hand in hand with improved access to theircivil rights. As Emmanuel Nengo⁷ – UNIPROBA’s current legal representative – explains, many Twa households around the country still do not have the necessary documents to be able to vote, such as identity cards and electoral registrationcards.

While the events that took place during the year helped raise awareness of the Twasituation both nationally and internationally, mostTwahouseholdsstillsufferfromseriouseconomicinsecurity.This has an effect on the school attendance of Twa children as they areparticularly susceptible to dropping out of school.⁸ In fact, a 2018 study⁹ coordinated by UNIPROBA shows that 82% of Twa have never been to school. The low school enrolment rate among the Twa is primarily due to the marginalisation they have long faced in the country. This does, however, need to be seen in the context of changes in Burundian society generally with regard to education. While the Twa are clearly disproportionately excluded from the education system, they are not theonly group affected by low school enrolment rates due to householdeconomicinsecurity.

Along similar lines, the impact that climate change is having on (primarily rural) Twa households cannot be seen independently from the environmental disruption being suffered by Burundian society as a whole (increased annual rainfall, changes in temperature, changes in agricultural seasons, etc.). In Burundi, the population is not geographically distributed according to ethnic belonging and so there are no areas inhabited solely by Twa, something that could make them more vulnerable than their neighbours to climate change. Their economic insecurity is, however, a factor likely to exacerbate the effect climate change has on them.

Conclusion

2019 was marked by different events held both to improve Twa integration into Burundian society and to preserve their cultural features (specific accent in Kirundi, songs and dances, etc.). Despite this, however, most Twa households still face social stigma and economic insecurity and are only partially represented in the political arena.

Zoé Quétu is a doctoral student in political science at Bordeaux University, in Les Afriques dans le Monde (LAM) laboratory. Her research focusesonIndigenousmobilisationinsub-SaharanAfricaandbuildingof collective identities in Burundi.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This article is part of the 34^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is from the Peruvian Amazon inside the Wampis territory, taken by Pablo Lasansky, and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2020 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2020 in full here

Notes and references

1. FélixNzorubonanya,“InterviewexclusiveavecVitalBambanze:‘Nousdevrions être un exemple pour la réconciliation de notre pays’”, Iwacu, les voix du Burundi, 05 June2019
2. UN web site, “Peuples autochtones, héritiers d’une grande diversité linguistique et culturelle”, last accessed 07 January2020
3. It is commonly thought in Burundi that the Twa have a particular pronunciation when they speak Kirundi. In actual fact, this is only really the case among rural Twa households.
4. For more information on the association, see the official website:http:// uniproba.ifaway.net
5. Mariette Rigumye, “Uniproba: ‘Certaines valeurs des Batwa sont en voie d’extinction’”,Iwacu,lesvoixduBurundi,12September2019https://www.iwacu-burundi.org/uniproba-certaines-valeurs-des-batwa-sont-en-voie-dextinction/
6. The advisor to the Ministry of Justice, in particular, waspresent
7. Burundi Press Agency, “Burundi Batwa communities called on to awake and participateinthe2020elections”,RegionWeek,26September2019https:// regionweek.com/burundi-batwa-communities-called-on-to-awake-and- participate-in-the-2020-elections/
8. Lionel Jospin Mugisha, “Burundi: éducation des Batwa, un saut dans levide”,
9. Yaga, 09 August 2019 https://www.yaga-burundi.com/2019/burundi-education-batwa-saut-vide/
10. Publication of Presse Burundaise, “UNIPROBA: entretien sur lascolarisationdes Batwa au Burundi”, last accessed 07 January 2020 https://www.ppbdi.com/index.php/extras/economie-sciences-education-formation/10592-uniproba-entretien-sur-la-scolarisation-des-batwa-au-burundi 

Tags: Climate, Human rights