Eryn,+Hannah,+Emma

=Aspects of Tutsi Culture = = = = **__Language:__ ** = = The Tutsis have a rather diverse language palette. The official language of the Tutsis is Kinyarwanda, a central Bantu language. More than eight million people speak Kinyarwanda in Rwanda, the homeland of the Tutsis. Another popular language is French. The Tutsis were previously ruled by Belgium, who spoke French. Therefore, the Tutsis learned to speak French. Even today, however, many Tutsi people have French names. The third, but by no means final, language spoken by the Tutsis is English. In the past, some Tutsi people were held hostage by people in Uganda, so the Tutsis would have picked up English there, and some may have never dropped it throughout the generations. = = = = __**Beliefs: **__ = =In terms of religion, a majority of the Tutsi people are Christian. They, however, believe that the God Imaana is their creator. Imaana is a God that creates wealth and fertility. Tutsis also believe in abazima, otherwise known as the spirits of deceased relatives. The role of abazima is to pass on messages between humans, typically the king, and the Gods. However, if the abazima are not properly respected, bad luck will be brought upon the people. In order to keep the abazima content, the Tutsis bring gifts to them. = = = = **__Behaviors:__ ** = =The Tutsi people have a few rather unique, at least to the American eye, traditions, that are by no means recently created. One of these practices would be the naming ceremony. This takes place seven days after a baby is born. Another tradition is marriage. The Tutsis take a common thing and add their own personal twist to it; the family of the groom pays, in money, the family of the bride. This is done to make up for all lost labor from the bride moving out of her family household. = = = = **__Values:__ ** = =The Tutsi people do not value materialistic objects as much as Americans are known to. Their values include things such as loved ones, social status, and tradition. When a loved one dies, they are followed by a period of mourning, in which family members pray, give speeches, and are limited on many activities such as physical labor or sex. After the grieving period comes to a close, the family holds a ritual feast in honor of the deceased. Social status is also very important to the Tutsi’s. Indication of social status is noted in people’s posture, body movements, and way of speaking. For example, people higher up on the social ladder are expected to act with dignity and show no emotion. In the area of tradition, singing, dancing, and drumming are some of the many things held on to by the Tutsi tribe. Such forms of entertainment are used in rituals such as the Rite of Passage, and used to create new songs for the enjoyment of the tribe members. = = =

= **__Globalization in Africa__ ** = = **As countries are becoming more connected through trade, boundaries have begun to fade. The invasion of western culture in foreign countries has led to local governments having less authority in their own nation and western countries have more. Smaller countries like Rwanda and Burundi have had little say in establishing laws and expectations when it comes to international trade, which has led to their culture being changed because of it.Citizens of these countries, including the Tutsis, are having to conform to the expectations of other countries if they wish to keep up in a changing world. With globalization comes more competition and if people cannot adjust according to that competition then they will fall behind. ** In addition, western countries have been pushing for democracy in African countries for many decades now. Because of the large amount of African countries that have recently become more democratic, this is an example of how western culture has been invading other regions in the world. Through the process of globalization, western culture has been forced upon other cultures and as a result, has changed them. = = = = **__Media Influence__ ** = =The media has become a powerful factor in affecting a culture. It has the ability to communicate important information as well as harmful propaganda, as demonstrated by the Hutus in the 1990’s. Charismatic and persuasive Hutu militia leaders were able to communicate to a much larger audience and convince many of them that genocide of the Tutsis would be beneficial. Further research reveals that the Hutus and the Tutsis are very similar in most aspects of their culture, which helps to demonstrate the amount of power that the media has in some cultures. Two decades earlier, radios were not a common household item in a Hutu home but because of trade and globalization, radios quickly became the main media outlet in Rwanda and Burundi. This is merely one example of how the media can have an impact on culture, or in this case, a particular ethnic group. = = = = **__Genocide of Rwanda__ ** = =The Tutsi’s and the Hutu’s, who were another African tribe living in Rwanda, began by living in peace. After the Tutsi’s conquered the Hutu tribe, The Hutu’s agreed to raise crops in return for protection. Because the Tutsi tribe raised cattle, they were ranked highest in social status over the Hutu tribe, who provided agriculture. Over time, the Belgians took control of the territory, praising the Tutsi tribe and often claiming them superior over the other tribes living in the area. The tension between the two tribes steadily grew, during which Rwanda gained it’s independence. But after Rwandan President Habyarimana was shot down in a plane on April 6, 1994, the Hutu people began plotting the mass murder of the entire Tutsi population. Over the course of 100 days, between 500,000 and 1 million Tutsi members were killed. What’s worse? The rest of the world failed to acknowledge Rwanda and aid in the restoration of peace between the two tribes. Thus, the Tutsi’s suffered major changes in their way of living due to poverty, destruction, orphaned children, etc. The aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide took the Tutsi tribe from the top of the social ladder to the bottom. = = = = **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Rebuilding Rwanda__ ** = =<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Western culture impacts many different people around the world, and the Tutsi’s are no exception. In the years following the Genocide of Rwanda, the people have attempted to steer themselves away from poverty and into prosperity. Roads have been built and improved upon, supermarkets and restaurants are being built, and even hotels are rising out of the ashes of what was a devastating time period for the Tutsi civilization. The influences of Western culture are impacting the buildings and areas all over Rwanda. In fact, one of the largest methane extractors are being built in Lake Kivu by an American company called ContourGlobal. In addition, whereas earlier Tutsi homes were made of wood, reeds, and straw, current households are built with materials used in the West, and have either an iron or tile roof. These are just some examples of the way Western culture has impacted the Tutsi’s, in this case through building structure and the repair of damage left by the Genocide of Rwanda. = = = = //Citations// =
 * //Cultural Changes and the Effects of Globalization// **

= **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Primary Sources__ ** =

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mamdani, Mahmood. "Rwandan Genocide." Terrorism: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee ** **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Lerner and Brenda **
 * Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 252-255. Gale World History In ** ** Context. Web. 29 Aug. 2012. **

// Author Mahmood Mamdani provides detailed insight of what happened during the Rwandan Genocide. This primary source provides the reader with a description of what it was like to live in Rwanda during a time of conflict and violence flared out to epic proportions. //


 * "Rwandan Tutsi Forgives." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 24 Feb. 2009. Web. 29 Aug. 2012. **
 * <http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4824136n>. **

// Immaculee Ilibaguza, a survivor of the Genocide, is interviewed on what went on during that time period. She describes the idea of forgiveness, and how she used it to overcome the trauma of earlier years. //


 * __Print Source__ **


 * "Shifting the blame; Rwandan history." The Economist [US] 14 Jan. 2012: 46(US).Gale World ** ** History In Context. **
 * Web. 29 Aug. 2012. **

// This magazine article explains the recent news in investigations performed to figure out which tribe, the Hutu’s or Tutsi’s, shot down a plane in 1994. New information condradicts prior opinion in suggesting that it may Hutu extremists may have been at fault. //


 * __Secondary Sources:__ **


 * "A Brief History." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2012 **
 * <http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/year.in.review/topten/hutu/history.html>. **

// This website provided a background and history of the Rwandan Genocide. Understanding the Hutu-Tutsi conflict was very helpful to realize how the Genocide brought cultural change to the Tutsi culture. //


 * "Effects of the 1994 Genocide." Rwanda. Blogspot, 18 Feb. 2007. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. **
 * <http://effectsofthegenocide.blogspot.com/>. **

// The author explained what the genocide in Rwanda was, and the effects of that particular event. The genocide was a cause for culture changes for the Tutsis, so this particular article was very helpful. //


 * "Genocide in Rwanda." United Human Rights Council. United Human Rights Council, 2012. Web. 28 Aug. ** ** 2012. **
 * <http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm>. **

// This particular article gave a useful overview of the genocide in Rwanda. It provided the necessary background information that was essential to understanding the change in the Tuti culture because of the genocide. //


 * Johnson, Bridget "Why is There Conflict between Tutsis and Hutus?" About.com World News. The New ** ** York **
 * Times Company, n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. <http://worldnews.about.com/od/africa/f/tutsihutu.htm>. **

// This article explained the reason behind the genocide in Rwanda. It specifically talked about the the relationship between the Tutsis and the Hutus, which was important when learning about their culture. //


 * Krieg, Andreas. "The Rwandan Genocide - A Conflict in the Era of Globalization " The Rwandan Genocide ** ** - A **
 * Conflict in the Era of Globalization. PICA, 2009. Web. 28 Aug. 2012 ** ** <http://www.thepicaproject.org/page_ **
 * id=154>. **

// The author of this article was able to thoroughly explain the globalization and genocide in Rwanda and the impact it had on the culture of the area. It clearly demonstrated the changes of the culture in a cause and effect format and provided much additional detail. //


 * "Tutsi." Countries and Their Cultures. Advameg, n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2012 **** <http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Brazil- **
 * to-Congo-Republic-of/Tutsi.html>. **

// This article covered all of the basic topics about the Tutsi people. This included their language, location, and religion. //


 * Tutsi Culture. Tripod, n.d. Web. 29 Aug. 2012. <http://ytyomama.tripod.com/index.html>. **

// This website gave very basic information on Tutsis, and the country of Rwanda in general. In addition to covering lanuage and religion, this website discussed custom traditions and rites of passages of the Tutsi people. //