Kingdom of Rwanda

The Kingdom of Rwanda was a pre-colonial kingdom in East Africa which survived with some of its autonomy intact under German and Belgian colonial rule until its monarchy was abolished in the Rwandan Revolution in 1961. After a 1961 referendum, Rwanda became a republic and received its independence in 1962.[1]

Kingdom of Rwanda Ubwami bw'u Rwanda  (Kinyarwanda) Royaume du Rwanda  (French) Königreich Ruanda  (German)
?–1962
Flag (1959-1961) Coat of arms
Status	Independent state (15th century–1885) Part of German East Africa (1885–1916) Part of Ruanda-Urundi (1916–1962)
Capital	Nyanza
Common languages	Kinyarwanda, French, German (official from 1885–1916)
Government	Monarchy
Mwami
• Unknown	Gihanga (1st Dyn.) (first)
• 1959–1961	Kigeli V (3rd Dyn.) (last)
History
• Established	?
• Republic declared	July 1 1962
ISO 3166 code	RW
Preceded by Succeeded by History of Rwanda Ruanda-Urundi Rwanda
Today part of	Rwanda

Since the monarchy was officially abolished, a court in pretence has been maintained abroad. The current titular king of Rwanda is Mwami Yuhi VI.

Pre-colonization

In the 15th century, one chiefdom managed to incorporate several of its close neighbor territories establishing the Kingdom of Rwanda after disintegration of the Bunyoro-Kitara Empire (Bachwezi Empire), which ruled over most of what is now considered Rwanda. The Hutu majority, 82–85% of the population, were mostly peasants while the kings, known as Mwamis, were generally from Tutsi. Certainly some Hutus were nobility and, equally, considerable intermingling took place.

Before the 19th century, it was believed that the Tutsis held military leadership power while the Hutus possessed healing power and agricultural skills. In this capacity, the Mwami's council of advisors (abiiru) was exclusively Hutu and held significant sway. By the mid-18th century, however, the abiiru had become increasingly marginalized.[2]

The position of Queen Mother was an important one, managing the royal household and being heavily involved in court politics.[3] When their sons ascended to the throne, mothers would take a new name. This would be composed of nyira-, meaning "mother of", followed by, usually, the regal name of the new king; only kings named Mutara do not follow this convention, their mothers taking the name Nyiramavugo (mother of good counsel).[4]

As the kings centralized their power and authority, they distributed land among individuals rather than allowing it to be passed down through lineage groups, of which many hereditary chiefs had been Hutu. Most of the chiefs appointed by the Mwamis were Tutsi.[5] The redistribution of land, enacted between 1860 and 1895 by Kigeli IV Rwabugiri, resulted in an imposed patronage system, under which appointed Tutsi chiefs demanded manual labor in return for the right of Hutus to occupy their land. This system left Hutus in a serf-like status with Tutsi chiefs as their feudal masters.[6][7]

Under Mwami Rwabugiri, Rwanda became an expansionist state. Rwabugiri did not bother to assess the ethnic identities of conquered peoples and simply labeled all of them “Hutu”. The title “Hutu”, therefore, came to be a trans-ethnic identity associated with subjugation. While further disenfranchising Hutus socially and politically, this helped to solidify the idea that “Hutu” and “Tutsi” were socioeconomic, not ethnic, distinctions. In fact, one could kwihutura, or “shed Hutuness”, by accumulating wealth and rising through the social hierarchy.

See also

• History of Rwanda
• List of kings of Rwanda

References

1. "Kingdom of Rwanda | historical kingdom, Africa". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
2. Swanson, Brent. "Rwanda's Voice: An Ethnomusicological Biography of Jean-Paul Samputu." PhD diss., 2014.
3. Gérard Prunier (1995). The Rwanda Crisis, 1959-1994. C. Hurst & Co. p. 24. ISBN 9781850652434.
4. Leon Delmas (1950). Généalogies de la noblesse (les Batutsi) du Ruanda (in French). Vicariat Apostolique du Ruanda Kabgayi. p. 54. le nom dynastique de leur fils, comme: Nyira-Yuhi, la mère de Yuhi-Musinga, Nyira-Kigeri, la mère de Kigeri-Rwabugiri, etc . . . Les rois du nom de Mutara devaient être des rois pacifiques et sociologues ; il leur fallait des conseillers experts pour bien gérer les intérêts du royaume, et le premier conseiller choisi fut la mère du roi, d'où le nom de Nyiramavugo qui signifie : mère du bon conseil, du bon langage.
5. "Bakiga People and their Culture". ugandatourismcenter.com. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
6. Johan Pottier (2002). Re-imagining Rwanda (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 13.
7. "Neighbours who kill 'without hatred': Hutus and Tutsis deny the depth". The Independent. 1994-04-11. Retrieved 2018-03-26.