Tutsi
The Tutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa. They have traditionally been considered a Hamitic people, however such notions are not generally accepted by the academic community today. Colonial scholars believed that the Tutsi came from East Africa, possibly Sudan or Uganda. Today there is considerable debate about the racial validity of the term Tutsi as distinct from Hutu. Some researchers believe there is next to no genetic difference between the two groups, and that what difference does exist can be explained by social patterns within the Great Lakes region. Most differences between the groups are economic and cultural. Nonetheless, most Rwandans today identify themselves as either Tutsi or Hutu.The term Tutsi is actually an indeterminate term. In the Kinyarwanda language, a single Tutsi is termed batutsi, and more than one (the plural) is termed watutsi. This is the source of the dance name Watusi.
The Watutsi are actually the most recent arrivals in Rwanda and Burundi. The original inhabitants were the Twa (or Watwa), a pygmy people. The Hutu (Wahutu), a Bantu-derived people, subsequently moved in and dominated the Twa. Later yet, the Tutsi immigrated from the north during the 1400's and dominated both the Hutu and the Twa, establishing kingdoms that they ruled.
An interesting aspect of these three racial groups is comparative height. The Twa are traditionally portrayed as short, the Hutu medium, and the Tutsi tall (traditionally; more modern interbreeding is reducing these differences). Height differences may well be accounted for by differences in nutrition. Physical differences are almost as stratified within the Tutsi group as between the Tutsis and the Hutus. Although some Tutsi are much taller and have sharper noses than most Hutus, most Tutsi are indistinguishable from the average Hutu.
There is no difference between the culture and language of the Tutsi and Hutu. Traditionally the rate of intermarriage has been very high. Relations between the groups were generally peaceful until the 20th century.
These significant similarites lead many to conclude that Tutsi is an expression of class or caste rather than ethnicity.
The disparities between the rights of the racial groups were not as extreme as in many such cases, but they were significant. The Hutu were basically considered to be the laborers for the Tutsi. If a Tutsi murdered a Hutu, the Hutu's kin could kill the Tutsi in revenge, but if a Hutu murdered a Tutsi, then the Tutsi's kin could kill the Hutu and one other member of his family in revenge.
In recent years, both Rwanda and Burundi have been, at least in theory, democratic nations with the same rights accorded to all. Nonetheless, the Tutsi have still held most power, with great resentment building on the part of the Hutu, leading to the recent massacres.
Some scholars maintain that the Hutu and Tutsi are not different races or peoples, but different castes. Belgian colonialisers created the notions of two different races rather than castes. Hutu, Tutsi and Twa all speak the same language.
The Tutsi had a monarchy (Rwanda). Its last king was Kigeri V