The East African countries of Rwanda and Burundi are home to an ethnic group known as the Tutsis. The political history of these countries revolve around the expansion and evolution of the Tutsi ethnicity. The Tutsi, through their culture and economic impact, create a unique role in the politics of Rwanda. There is no single theory that could best explain the political evolution of this ethnicity, however the instrumentalist theory seems to be the most comprehensive in attempting to explain the politicization and ethnic identity of the Tutsis.
The Tutsis have a similar culture to other groups in the region of East Africa, including the Hutus and the Twa. Each ethnicity speaks the same language, which is a Central Bantu language. There …show more content…
Both ethnic groups have similar rites of passage as well. The Tutsis have a naming ceremony that occurs a week after the baby is born, which is the first rite of passage that a Tutsi will go through. The next is marriage, which is the mark of the start of adulthood. The groom pays the bride’s family the amount of her bride wealth. Marriages used to be arranged between two people of the same social class. In today’s society, Tutsis are able to choose their own partner. The final rite is death, after which close family avoid physical activity during the mourning period. After this period, there is a ritual feast in the dead relative’s memory (Everyculture.com, …show more content…
A main social problem regarding the Tutsi’s origins revolved around the Rwandan genocide of 1994. This established the different perceptions in an elitist class structure. The genocide is an example of the “ethnic argument for the sake of class privilege” and led to “institutionalized confusion” (Pottier, 2002, 10). A key instrumentalist perspective of the political structure of Rwanda after the 1994 genocide is that “this generalized confusion played into the hands of the wealthy, who, when the crisis deepened, expertly reframed the nature of the crisis – from class struggle to ethnic struggle – in order to buy the loyalty of the oppressed” (Pottier, 2002, 10). The distinction between the Hutus and Tutsis is critical in understanding the political history of Rwanda. Instrumentalists have stated that “wealth, not race, was the basis of the ethnic distinction between Hutu and Tutsi” (Pottier, 2002, 14). The origin of the Tutsi ethnicity can be defined by several different things, however under this perspective the definition comes from their economic status within the country of
The Tutsis have a similar culture to other groups in the region of East Africa, including the Hutus and the Twa. Each ethnicity speaks the same language, which is a Central Bantu language. There …show more content…
Both ethnic groups have similar rites of passage as well. The Tutsis have a naming ceremony that occurs a week after the baby is born, which is the first rite of passage that a Tutsi will go through. The next is marriage, which is the mark of the start of adulthood. The groom pays the bride’s family the amount of her bride wealth. Marriages used to be arranged between two people of the same social class. In today’s society, Tutsis are able to choose their own partner. The final rite is death, after which close family avoid physical activity during the mourning period. After this period, there is a ritual feast in the dead relative’s memory (Everyculture.com, …show more content…
A main social problem regarding the Tutsi’s origins revolved around the Rwandan genocide of 1994. This established the different perceptions in an elitist class structure. The genocide is an example of the “ethnic argument for the sake of class privilege” and led to “institutionalized confusion” (Pottier, 2002, 10). A key instrumentalist perspective of the political structure of Rwanda after the 1994 genocide is that “this generalized confusion played into the hands of the wealthy, who, when the crisis deepened, expertly reframed the nature of the crisis – from class struggle to ethnic struggle – in order to buy the loyalty of the oppressed” (Pottier, 2002, 10). The distinction between the Hutus and Tutsis is critical in understanding the political history of Rwanda. Instrumentalists have stated that “wealth, not race, was the basis of the ethnic distinction between Hutu and Tutsi” (Pottier, 2002, 14). The origin of the Tutsi ethnicity can be defined by several different things, however under this perspective the definition comes from their economic status within the country of