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For the defunct airline TWA, see Trans World Airlines.

Twa
Batwa with traditional bow and arrow
Total population
80,000
Regions with significant populations
Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Tanzania, Uganda
Language(s)
Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Rukiga
Religion(s)
7% Christian[1]
Related ethnic groups
Hutu, Tutsi

The Twa, also known as Batwa, are a pygmy people who were the oldest recorded inhabitants of the Great Lakes region of central Africa. Current populations are found in the nations of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2000, they numbered approximately 80,000 people, making them significant minority groups in these countries^[2].

There are also a number of southern "Twa" populations in Angola, Namibia, Zambia, and Botswana living in swamps and deserts far from the forest. These are little studied, and this article will deal only with the Twa of the Great Lakes region.

Contents 1 History 2 Current situation 3 Support 3.1 Groups working with the Twa 4 See also 4.1 Other Pygmy groups 4.2 Researchers who studied pygmy culture and music 5 External links 6 References

When the Hutu, a Bantu people, arrived in the region, they subjugated the Twa. Around the 15th century AD, the Tutsi, a Nilotic people, subsequently arrived and dominated both the Twa and the Hutu. The Twa speak the same language, Kinyarwanda, as the Hutu and Tutsi. For several hundred years, the Twa have been a very small minority in the area (currently 1% in Rwanda and Burundi) and have had little political role.

The Twa are often ignored in discussions about the conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis, which reached its height in the Rwandan genocide of 1994.^[2]. About 30% of the Twa population of Rwanda died in the fighting.^[3]

Traditionally, the Twa have been a semi-nomadic "hunter-gatherer" people group of the mountain forests. Due to clearing of the forests for agriculture, logging, development projects, or creation of conservation areas, the Twa have been forced to leave these areas and establish new homes. As they seek to develop new means of sustaining their communities (such as agriculture and livestock development) most are currently landless and live in poverty. The ancestral land rights of the Twa have never been recognized by their governments and no compensation has been made for lands lost.

Twa children have little access to education and their communities have limited representation in local and national government. Due to their pygmy ancestry, they continue to suffer ethnic prejudice, discrimination, violence, and general exclusion from society.^[4][5]

• Forest Peoples Programme - Moreton-in-Marsh, England
• CAURWA (Communauté des Autochtones Rwandais) - Kigali, Rwanda
• African International Christian Ministry - Kabale, Uganda
• Dr. Scott and Carol Kellermann - Kanungu, Uganda

• Mbuti (Bambuti) people
• Baka
• Aka

• Colin Turnbull
• Simha Arom
• Mauro Campagnoli
• Jean-Pierre Hallet

• Pygmies of Central Africa with photos and ethnographic notes
• Batwa Pygmies of the Great Lakes Region, Minority Rights Group International, June 2000
• Twa Women, Twa Rights in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Minority Rights Group International, November 2003
• BURUNDI: The Batwa quest for equality : Pygmies today in Africa IRIN In-Depth [This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.]

1. ^ Johnstone, Patrick, and Jason Mandryk. Operation World. Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster Lifestyle, 2001.
2. ^ ^{a b} Minorities Under Siege: Pygmies today in Africa IRIN In-Depth [This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.]
3. ^ "Minorities Under Siege: Pygmies today in Africa", UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-11. 
4. ^ Forest Peoples Programme. http://www.forestpeoples.org/
5. ^ CAURWA (Communauté des Autochtones Rwandais). http://www.catgen.com/caurwa/EN