Cattle Herders
The Tutsi civilizations are located in Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Tutsis lived amongst other civilizations. Compared to the other civilizations, the Tutsis were a small group of people. Fortunately, the Tutsi people were highly skilled in cattle herding. This was important for not only all the civilizations and having food to eat, but being good at cattle herding helped the Tutsis build strong bonds with the other local civilizations (Nyankanzi 1997). Having good relationships with the other civilizations meant that they would be able to keep peace with others and gain their loyalty (Nyankanzi 1997).Trade Patterns
Along with cattle trading with local civilizations, the Tutsis benefited from being conquered by the Europeans. When the europeans held power where the Tutsi civilizations were located, the Tutsis were able to grow bonds with the europeans. In the 1890s, Germany had power and traded with the Tutsis because the Tutsis were well-known for cattle herding and cattle trading (Shackleford 2014). Germany favored the Tutsis over the Hutus because of the overall fact that the Tutsis offered the Germans something useful (Shackleford 2014). During their rule, Germans found a vast commodity within Rwanda, which happened to be coffee. The Tutsis had cattle and the physicality in which they could be a strong partner of Germanys to harvest the coffee beans. Having such great relationships with the Germans, the Tutsis were favored in benefitting from incoming capital from the Western markets.
References
Nyankanzi, Edward L.
"Genocide: Rwanda and Burundi." Rochester, Vt.: Schenkman Books, 1997.
Countries and Their Cultures." Tutsi. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Countries and Their Cultures." Tutsi. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Shackleford, Rusty.
"Colonization and the Rwandan Genocide." Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
"Colonization and the Rwandan Genocide." Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
I found interesting how the Tutsis were able to gain from being conquered within Rwanda. Even before being conquered by the Europeans, the Tutsis were able to use their skills and begin cattle herding. Being able to cattle herd lead to the Tutsis having such great ties with local civilizations. In my opinion, the Tutsis are a huge factor in the growth of Rwanda and the neighboring civilizations. The Tutsis are a intellectual group of people that have used their resources to their advantage.
ReplyDeleteDear Gabriel,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post, and you will all need to make your refs consistent, but you can do it before you present. For your COMMENT here above, I think you could try to incorporate some of the course material, about influences from outside or indigenous groups? Good job, Thanks!
Joseph,
ReplyDeletePlease, look at the references Stephanie posted. Use the same formatting. Just like hers. You can do this after your presentation. I will double check later tomorrow in the afternoon as my final evaluation of the blog
Also, think about incorporating some of the course content. What have you heard in class or during the films that you can relate to the case of the Tutsi and Hutu. How about foreign influences? Maybe the film THE REAL AVATAR? Or the book's reading about diffusion and culture. Think about this, and talk about some of what you may feel comfortable with related to course content. Also, add it to your comment before I do my final evaluation later tomorrow. Thanks
In my opinion, the Tutsi tribe are a pastoralist society because, during the 19th century, they were dependent on herding and producing animal products to meet the needs of other civilizations. In Appadurai's concept of Global Flows, there are 5 cross-culturally sensitive strategies for local involvement. The Tutsis follow this concept in the sense that they respond to locally perceived needs such as cattle herding. During Germany's reign over the Tutsis and the neighboring civilizations, it reminded me of the movie, The Real Avatar, that we watched during class. A similarity between the two was the how the smaller civilizations were powerless when bigger groups seized their land.
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