The Accession of Musinga
In late 1896, Yuhi Musinga acceded to power as king of Rwanda. Located just south of the equator in central Africa, on the highlands that mark the geographic backbone of the African continent, this was a region of remarkable ecological…
The Eruption Of Vilence
In the historical data we have noted the success with which the peripheral areas had withstood the attempted incursion of the traditional power structure of central Rwanda up to the time of colonial rule. We have also noted that with…
The Central Court: Myth Of Origin II
The Queen Mother Although the Mwami’s powers were absolute he shared his prerogatives with the queen mother. She ruled with the king, had her own court and her own personal clients on Ibikingi land. She had her own herds and…
The Central Court: Myth Of Orgin I
(a) The Mwami The first King of Rwanda, Nkuba, lived in heaven with his wife Nyagasani, their two sons Kigwa and Tutsi and their daughter Nyampundu. One day the three siblings fell rom heaven and settled on a hill in…
Marriage and affinal ties
Marriage and affinal ties In all areas the wives retained membership of their own lineage and became adopted members of the husbandts household. In cases of ritual obligation, as for instance after childbirth, a wife had to go to the…
The Blood Pacts In Rwanda
A relationship, expressed in kinship terminology, resulted from the blood pact which was very widespread in all groups in Rwanda. Two pensons could enter into a blood pact so long as they did not belong to the same umuryango or…
The Marriage And Affinal Ties Among Banyarwanda
In all areas the wives retained membership of their own lineage and became adopted members of the husbandts household. In cases of ritual obligation, as for instance after childbirth, a wife had to go to the shrine of her own…
The Rwandan Kinship
In Rwanda, Tutsi, Hutu and Twa, independent of the region they lived in, reckoned their descent patrilineally. The four named groups based on the principle of agnatic descent are the clan (ubwoko), the sub-clan, (shanga) and the lineage (umuryango) while…
The Geographical Situation And Discovery Of Rwanda
Rwanda as we find it on the map today lies in the centre of the African continent just south of the equator. Being equidistant from Capetown and Cairo and raughly nine hundred miles from Mombasa on the Indian Ocean and…
Who Was Who In Ancient Rwanda ?
In the introduction I have spoken of Tutsi and Hutu who, with the Twa, are the inhabitants of Rwanda and have indicated that we are principally concerned with the former two. We are concerned with their place in traditional…