The Twa: A forest people navigating the cost of conservation
In short: For centuries, the Twa lived as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers in the forests of the African Great Lakes. Today, they face a modern paradox: their ancestral lands are being protected as wildlife sanctuaries, often resulting in their forced displacement and the systematic erosion of their cultural identity.
The Great Lakes Twa, also known as Batwa, are an indigenous pygmy group primarily residing in Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While they are often assumed to be the region's oldest surviving population, their history is complex. They were historically subjugated by the Bantu-speaking Hutu people, who called them 'bush people.' This dynamic has left the Twa as a small minority—comprising only about 1% of the population in Rwanda and Burundi—with limited political power and significant social exclusion.
The Twa face unique cultural and physical marginalization. Historically, they were viewed unfavorably by Hutu and Tutsi groups because they ate sheep, which were considered taboo. In Rwanda, a specific myth suggested that sleeping with a Twa woman could cure backaches, leading to children born of these unions being labeled 'Abasyete' and regarded as having different morphology. Furthermore, while most pygmy groups trade for agricultural goods, the Twa are unique for being traditional potters, a craft they now maintain as a vital expression of identity despite it no longer being a profitable livelihood.
Modernity has brought severe challenges to Twa survival. In 1992, the Twa were expelled from Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to protect mountain gorillas. In the DRC, 6,000 Batwa were expelled from Kahuzi-Biega National Park in 1975, only to return in 2019, where they faced violent retaliation from militarized park guards. Currently, the Twa are largely landless and impoverished, facing a 'cultural collapse' where men struggle with alcoholism as traditional roles vanish, and communal clay-harvesting sites are being converted into rice plantations.
label": "6,000 Batwa expelled from Kahuzi-Biega National Park"
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Great Lakes Twa
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