Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0065/00657.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 10KB | 181 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00657}
$Pretitle{283}
$Title{Burundi
Chapter 1.    General Character of the Society}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Gordon C. McDonald}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{ch
social
hutu
family
political
burundi
tutsi
percent
population
cattle}
$Date{1970}
$Log{}
Country:     Burundi
Book:        Burundi, A Country Study
Author:      Gordon C. McDonald
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1970

Chapter 1.    General Character of the Society

     Burundi is located on the highlands of the Congo-Nile Divide, along the
western branch of the Great East African Rift Valley. Moderate climate and
relatively productive soils have fostered an expanding population of about
3,500,000 people in a total area of 10,746 square miles. Regional densities
range from under 100 to over 800 per square mile, with an average of
approximately 325, making this one of the most densely populated countries in
Africa (see Physical Environment, ch. 3; Population, ch. 4).

     Ninety-nine percent of the people are of African descent, and more than
90 percent make their living by subsistence farming and cattle raising. The
historical division between farmer and herder formed much of the basis for the
feudal master-servant relationship between the major Tutsi (Batutsi) and Hutu
(Bahutu) ethnic groups, the major factor in the social structure (see Social
Structure, ch. 5).

     Burundi was among the last areas of Africa to be penetrated by Europeans,
and it was not until 1885, at the Conference of Berlin, that the area that is
now Burundi was officially regarded by European powers as a German area of
influence. The centralization of power in the Tutsi monarchy was not disrupted
by German rule/ which ended with the defeat of Germany in 1918. In the postwar
settlements the Territory of Ruanda-Urundi was declared a League of Nations
Mandate, to be administered by Belgium. It became a United Nations Trusteeship
after World War II, again under the Belgians who administered it much as an
adjunct of the Congo (now Congo Kinshasa) until 1962, when the former
Territory achieved independence as two approximately equal-sized nations,
Burundi and Rwanda (see Historical Setting, ch. 2).

     Christian missionary teachings and the experience of working under the
Belgium Trusteeship brought an awareness of European political processes to a
small minority of Burundi, many of whom later became active in the move toward
independence and self-government. Under the United Nations a modified version
of representative self-government was developed after 1952, based in part upon
a system of advisory councils.

     In preindependence years the ethnic Hutu made up approximately 83 percent
of the population, and the pygmoid Twa less than 1 percent. The Tutsi,
accounting for about 16 percent, still held most of their traditional
authority and influence in the social and political structure.

     Old rivalries and feuds, usually suppressed during the periods of German
and Belgian control, were diverted into political maneuvering during the
1950s, and more than 15 political parties demanded recognition. Two of these
dominated the field by the end of 1960-the National Unity and Progress Party
(Unite et progres national-UPRONA) and the Christian Democratic Party (Parti
democrate Chretien-PDC) (see Historical Setting, ch. 2).

     Tutsi-Hutu factionalism continued when the nation became fully
independent as a constitutional monarchy on July 1, 1962. From 1962 to 1966
political conflicts continued. The Constitution was suspended in mid-1966, and
on November 28 of that year Army Captain Michel Micombero, then Prime
Minister, announced that the military leaders had decided to end the rule of
the monarchy. A 13-man Revolutionary Council assumed control, with Micombero
as President (see Political and Government Systems, ch. 6).

     In 1969 this Government continued to control the nation, ruling by
presidential edict. There was little of the dissidence and violence of the
pre-1966 period. As head of the State and of UPRONA, the only political party,
Micombero had great personal authority which he generally used with restraint.
After consolidating control he had, for the most part, avoided punitive
measures against the restive leaders of the Hutu majority, and had accepted a
limited number of Hutu into administrative positions. He had worked for
national unity and for economic development along socialist lines. His
government had avoided alignments with either Communist or Western nations,
and had sought good relationships with the neighboring states of Rwanda,
Tanzania, and Congo (Kinshasa).

     In the 1965 census, 46 percent of the people were under 15 years of age,
indicating that population growth will probably put increasing pressure on the
land during the 1970s.

     The Burundi child lives amid the local kin group, and is taught the
social values and religious beliefs of his forefathers, including total
resignation to the will of Imana, the Supreme Being and source of all good.
Acceptance of Imana's will and an immutable future helps to explain the
subsistence farmers' uncomplaining acceptance of a precarious survival of an
inadequate diet, which is extracted from an overworked soil by daily handlabor
(see Religion and Social Values, ch. 5). Since the turn of the century, more
than half the population has adopted Christianity, but other changes have
proceeded more slowly.

     Most farmers are Hutu, descendants of migrants who probably came from the
north and west five or six centuries ago, and began to clear the prevailing
mixed forests. Pygmoid Twa (Batwa) who already lived in the area were pushed
aside, and the Hutu farmers were well established before the arrival of the
Tutsi, the Nilotic herdsmen who moved in from the north three centuries ago.
During a period of two centuries the Tutsi warrior-herdsmen subjugated the
Hutu, who became serfs. The Hutu adopted the Tutsi's mystic attachment to his
cattle, living symbols of wealth and prestige. A clientship system (ubugabire)
developed, in which the Hutu tended cattle owned by the Tutsi, receiving in
return protection from enemies and possibly some of the increase in the herds.
(see Ethnic Groups, ch. 4; Social Values, ch. 5).

     There has been no great change in this use of land and labor for the
production of cattle which contribute little to the economy, even though the
nation's major problem is the need to increase food production. About
two-fifths of the land is suitable for farming, and another two-fifths for
grazing. The combination of moderately fertile soil and tropical highland
climate encourages a wide variety of legumes, tubers, cereals, and other food
crops. Many varieties of beans and peas are grown, and are a main source of
protein. Maize, barley, sorghum, several millets, and other cereals are common
in most provinces. Most farm families also produce cassava, potatoes, various
green vegetables, and bananas. Much of the banana and sorghum crop is used for
the production of beer, which is extremely important as a diet item and a
social necessity.

     The rural family is the main body of the social structure. Each family or
kin group lives in a separate farmstead, preferably on the slopes or tops of
hills. There are few villages, and very few rural dwellers have had social,
psychological, or political ties which would distract them from family, crops,
and cattle (see Social Values, ch. 5).

     In the past, a clan chief sometimes improved his status or increased his
wealth by marriage. Before the influence of the Roman Catholic and Protestant
missionaries became widespread, a man might have had several wives. Whether a
man was well-to-do or not, a large family was considered a blessing. Fathers
had great authority, and usually took seriously their responsibility for
maintaining the well-being and dignity of the family. All relatives were taken
in by a family or kin group, so that there were no unattached people.

     Strict taboos governed re