The Tutsi and Hutu societies

The Tutsi and Hutu people The Burundi population is made up of the Hutu, the Tutsi and the Twa. © Claude Pavard - Hoa-Qui

Traditional society, very hierarchical, is organised in a feudal way. Tutsis are pastoral people who raise cattle, and Hutus are farmers. For the Tutsis, the king (mwami) represents the image of the supreme God Imama. He is surrounded by aristocracy whose power resides on the possession of cattle. Thus, an animal will be given in usufruct to the farmer in exchange for his agricultural produce. This practice, ubuhake, creates the "owner-customer" connection between two people. Due to this the Tutsis have economic power, enhanced by a military power that is traditionally due to them. The German then Belgian colonisers have naturally taken advantage of this hierarchical system to satisfy their classification needs of the population. Hence, they have given preference to the Tutsi aristocracy and encouraged the schism between the two communities.