Tutsi

The Tutsi, or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. Tutsi are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group of probable Nilotic origin, and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi. Hema, a small tribe of Nilotic nomads, also live near the Tutsi in Rwanda and travel through the Northern and northeastern portions of Rwanda. Historically, the Tutsi were pastoralists and filled the ranks of the warriors caste. Prior to 1962 they regulated and controlled Rwandan society, which was composed of Tutsi aristocracy and Hutu commoners, by means of a clientship structure. They occupied the dominant positions in the sharply stratified society and constituted the ruling class.