In the song The Watusi of gender Hully Gullywhich nowadays we actually perceive as stereotypical and at times racist, Edward Vianello presents us in music a specific population of theAfricacalled precisely the Watusifamous for their height and for living at the foot of Kilimanjaro. The “real” Watussi, known as Tutsi, however, live far from Kilimanjaro, they are not very tall but, on the other hand, they have actually invented many over time traditional dances and dances such as the intore and the amaraba, of great cultural value. This population is also known for having been the main victim of the 1994 Rwandan genocide by another (presumed) African ethnic group, the Hutu.
Why do we call them Watussi if their name is Tutsi?
First of all, let’s dwell for a moment on the name “Watussi”: why were the Tutsi called that in Vianello’s song? It all depends on the name that this population attributes to itself as a group: in various African languages (without going into the merits of which ones) the prefix “Wa/Ba/Aba”placed before the name of something, indicates a plurality of individuals/objects referring to that something. This means that “Wa-tussi” (“tussi” is a simplification of “Tutsi”) means a set of Tutsi individuals; the singular prefix “Mu/Umu” is used instead to indicate a single individual of the reference group: “Mu-Tutsi” indicates a single Tutsi person.
Tutsis do not live at the foot of Kilimanjaro
The Tutsis are a population that inhabits the lands of Burundiof the Rwanda and part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although in Vianello’s song they are described as living on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, this information is not entirely accurate. In fact, the mountain and volcano Kilimanjaro is located in northeastern Tanzania, on the border with Kenya, far from the regions inhabited by the Watussi.
Are Tutsis really tall?
If we wanted to delve deeper into the myth of the height of the Watussiwe would discover a more nuanced reality. Colonial literature has actually depicted the Tutsis as a tall population, unlike other presumed ethnic groups living in the same territories, in particular the Hutus and the Twas. However, these ethnic groups are precisely “presumed”, because nowadays the difference between these groups is historically attributed by anthropologists more to thesocio-political and economic background than ethnicity: within the human groups of these areas of Africa, the Tutsis would have been the highest social class, dedicated to livestock farming, the Hutus, instead, the social class of farmers.
In fact, this socio-economic division may have once determined a height difference due to type of diet (the greater or lesser protein intake given by meat), but today it is almost impossible to distinguish between a Tutsi and a Hutu, even for individuals who self-assign to one of the two groups, especially in urban contexts. In this regard, one study on the variation of heightpublished on the scientific platform eLife and conducted on 200 countries in the world, ranks Rwanda only 194th for world average height and Burundi 160th. In short, at least nowadays the Tutsis they are not “very high”.
The truth in the song “i Watussi”: dances and dances
Beyond the caricatural and, in our eyes, somewhat racist representation that is made of them in Vianello’s song (a child, on the other hand, of his times), the Tutsis actually have “invented many dances” throughout their history. Traditional music and dance, in fact, have been an integral part of Tutsi ceremonies and rites since pre-colonial times. Their traditional dances The best known are the intore (male dance) and the amaraba (mainly female), and are often described as energetic and graceful.
These dances are not only artistic expressions, but for the Tutsis they represent living testimonies of their cultural roots. The dances are in fact accompanied by drums and tribal songs in which stories of dynasties, life, love and courage are told. The intore dancers present themselves with long white manes and beaded decorations, brandishing hand-painted sticks (as seen on the cover of this article), while the amaraba dancers wear the umushanana, a long and draped dress that emphasizes their elegance in their movements.
These dances have a remarkable social impact. They are in fact often performed during significant ceremonies, such as weddings, rites of passage and holiday celebrations, reflecting a deep sense of community and belonging that mirrors the concept of plurality inherent in the name “Watussi”.
In recent years, the increase in mass tourism and the globalization have made these dances increasingly popular, attracting spectators from all over the world. They are fascinated by the mastery of the movements, the perfect synchrony and the palpable passion that permeates every beat of the drum and every dance step. However, it is important to ask whether the increased visibility of these dances also involves risks of cultural exploitation. There is a risk that the Tutsis, like some other African populations, will find themselves trapped in stereotypical rolesreduced to simple folkloristic experiences for the entertainment of tourists and spectators.
The Tutsis are also the victims of the Rwandan genocide.
To conclude, if up to now we have talked about the cultural characteristics of the Tutsi people, someone might have already heard their name, beyond the song by Edoardo Vianello, in relation to a dramatic historical event: the 1994 Rwandan genocideThe Rwandan genocide was a systematic massacre of approximately 800,000 people, which occurred in just over 100 days, between April and July 1994. Tensions between the Tutsis and the Hutus, who constituted the (presumed) ethnic majority in Rwanda (at least in terms of self-assignment of individuals to the two groups), culminated in a wave of violence. The Tutsis were the main victims of this genocide, orchestrated by Hutu extremists. This tragic event has profoundly marked the history of the Tutsis and has also had significant repercussions on the entire international community and on the global perception of ethnic tensions and crimes against humanity.
