Congo - The Tutsis (Congo)

The Nilotic Tutsis tend to be the educated and wealthier of the ethnic groups in eastern Congo. The Tutsis originally migrated south from the Rift valley as cattle herders 400 years ago and eventually settled near and intermarried with the agrarian Hutus. They created the two countries of Rwanda and Burundi (where they make up about 15 percent of the population) and are also found in eastern Congo and southwest Uganda. The Tutsi ruled the Hutus as serfs in Rwanda, whereas in Burundi a tribe called the Ganwa (unrelated to either the Hutus or Tutsis) ruled both. Later, the colonial rulers favored Tutsis in selected governmental posts, and even though missionaries would educate Hutus, there always remained both an imbalance and an integration. This odd symbiotic and volatile relationship is the reason why it is difficult to make clear ethnic or political distinctions in the killing and violence that will continue to affect the area.