Kingdom of Rwanda Ubwami bw'u Rwanda (Kinyarwanda) Koninkrijk Roeanda (Dutch) Royaume du Rwanda (French) Königreich Ruanda (German) | |||||||
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| c. 17th century–1961 | |||||||
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| Status | Independent state (15th century–1897) Part ofGerman East Africa (1897–1916) Part ofRuanda-Urundi (1922–1961) | ||||||
| Capital | Nyanza | ||||||
| Common languages |
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| Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||
| Mwami | |||||||
• 15th century | Ruganzu Ndori[1] | ||||||
• 1959–1961 | Kigeli V (3rd Dynasty) (last king) | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | c. 17th century | ||||||
| 1 July 1961 | |||||||
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| Today part of | Rwanda | ||||||
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| History ofRwanda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheKingdom of Rwanda (also known as theNyiginya Kingdom orNyginya Dynasty[2]) was aBantu kingdom in modern-dayRwanda, which grew to be ruled by aTutsi monarchy.[3] It was one of the most centralized kingdoms inCentral andEast Africa.[4] It was later annexed underGerman andBelgian colonial rule while retaining some of its autonomy. The Tutsi monarchy was abolished in 1961 after ethnic violence erupted between theHutu and the Tutsi during theRwandan Revolution which started in 1959.[5] After a1961 referendum, Rwanda became a Hutu-dominated republic and received its independence from Belgium in 1962.[6]
After the revolution and abolition of the monarchy, the deposedKigeli V eventually settled in theUnited States, and since then monarchists have maintained acourt-in-exile outside of Rwanda. The currentpretender to the Rwandan throne isYuhi VI.[7]
The founder of the Rwandan kingdom and of its ruling Nyiginya Dynasty was named Ruganzu Ndori. Ndori was a Hima and came from Uganda in the north sometime during the 1600's. Eventually, the Nyiginya Dynasty claimed Tutsi origins for itself, increasing the prestige attached to the label as their power grew in the region.[8][9][10]
The position of Queen Mother was an important one, managing the royal household and being heavily involved in court politics.[11] When their sons ascended to the throne, mothers would take a new name. This would be composed ofnyira-, meaning "mother of", followed by, usually, the regal name of the new king; only kings namedMutara do not follow this convention, their mothers taking the nameNyiramavugo (mother of good counsel).[12]
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.[13] The redistribution of land, enacted between 1860 and 1895 byKigeli IV Rwabugiri, resulted in an imposedpatronage 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 aserf-like status with Tutsi chiefs as theirfeudal masters.[14][15]
Under Mwami Rwabugiri, Rwanda became anexpansionist 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, notethnic, distinctions. In fact, one couldkwihutura, or "shed Hutuness", by accumulating wealth and rising through thesocial hierarchy.[16]
The borders of the kingdom were rounded out in the late 19th century by Mwami Rwabugiri, who is regarded as Rwanda’s greatest king. By 1900, Rwanda was a unified state with a centralized military structure.[17]
Owing to its isolation, Rwanda's engagement with theIndian Ocean slave trade was extremely limited until the end of the 19th century. The first Europeans did not arrive in Rwanda until 1894, making Rwanda one of the last regions ofAfrica to have been explored by Europeans.[18] In 1897, Germany established a presence in Rwanda with the formation of an alliance with the king, beginning thecolonial era.[19]
Jean-Marie Kagabo describes the command system of the Rwandan military:[20][21]
The king would choose either a Tutsi or a Hutu; his duties lay in the military domain, given that each Rwandan male necessarily belonged to an army unit (militia). Rwandan historianAlexis Kagame (1972) cites the example of two famous army chiefs of Hutu origin. The first was Bikotwa, the son of Rubashamuheto, whom KingKigeli IV Rwabugiri appointed to head two army divisions: Inzirabwoba and Indirira. The second was Nkiramacumu, who succeeded the Tutsi Chief Nkundukozera as head of the same Inzirabwoba a few years later.
KingKigeli IV Rwabugiri, invaded the neighboring Kingdom ofAnkole, bringing with him as many warriors "as the cloud of midges", and many women, and cattle, intending to permanently occupy Ankole. Kigeri's troops rapidly overranAnkole and chased Ntare V (the king of Ankole at that time) all the way to the northeast near Ankole's border withBuganda. KingKigeri IV Rwabugiri brought his own cattle and women from Rwanda because he considered the cattle of Ankole too ugly to supply him with milk, andAnkole women too ugly to sleep with.[22]
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.
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