The Butwa Tribe

Singing and dancing is an important part of the Butwa's culture, so this picture shows us dancing with them as they sang to us (and also helps to show the height difference)

The Butwa tribe are pygmies, when Liz mentioned that there was a chance to see them I admit I was incredibly excited to see them. Why? I'm ashamed because I had a curiosity similar to that of seeing a rare animal. I was intrigued to see the pygmies because it seemed interesting and realistically wasn't going to happen again. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

So, I decided to read up on them, luckily we had a Uganda guidebook with us, so I started on that. I was intrigued to find out the average adult height was about 1.5 m, (I thought it would be closer to 1 m.) But, what sparked by interested most was their history. I'd just assumed that they'd be okay, but like many indigenous tribes they're not and their past plays a big part in why. But, whilst their history is interesting, their present stocked me. The Butwa are no longer hunter-gatherers but 'conservation refugees.' They are unheard and ignored by the government, living off the pity or generosity of the other ethnic groups and treated as a tourist attraction.

And that disgusts me. 

And because of that I'm now ashamed of my initial thoughts towards them because they are an amazing group of people who are misunderstood and not represented. They are survivors despite being dealt an awful hand. But most importantly they are not a tourist attraction like animals in a Safari park but human beings, people God created and loves and people that should be seen as our equals. 

I'e just googled 'batwa' and here are some descriptions, just so you know, I'm not making this up.

"... the Batwa became squatters living on the edges of society.... The Batwa in Uganda (today) experience systematic and pervasive discrimination from the government and other sectors of society, and their rights as indigenous peoples are neither recognised nor respected." 1

and

"They are now some of the poorest people in the world with a high infant mortality rate and low life expectancy." 2

The Butwa people are survivors despite going through so much suffering. As I read about them I disovered a huge compassion for these people and anger at the way they have been and are being treated. By the time we went to met them, I was still excited to see them, but for a new reason, I wanted to meet these people who are surviors despite the odds, I wanted to learn how they lived, to see the truth with my own eyes.

But I was also afraid that we were going to see these people as a tourist attraction, as I read more of the guide, I'd realised for many of the tribes tourism was the only source of income for the Butwa. Luckily the tribe we met were as excited to see us as we were to see them,  as for many of them it was the first time they had seen a Musunga (a white person.) 

The Butwa's History

The Butwa are naturally hunter-gathers and therefore used to live in the forest of central Africa, the tribe we based used to live in the forest that has become Bwindi National Park. They lived in the forest, not destroying it but living off it's abundance. 

However, their first problem arose when the Bantu people moved in, unlike the Butwa they did not repect the forest and survived through farming, thus cut down large areas of the forest. Reducing the area that the Butwa could live in.

To add insult to injury, when the forest became the Bwindi NP the government gave compensation to the Bantu farmers for the land they lost. However, as the Butwa whilst 'owners' of the forests weren't given any compensation, they were just evicted from the forest. Not only did they lose their land, becoming squatters, they also lost their livelihoods. They were hunter-gathers and didn't know how to farm, not that they had any land to farm anyway. 

And this is where their story ends, but as I've researched I've discovered glimmers of hope. They are programmes aiming to get the Butwa's voices heard, and in the meantime help make them self-sufficent by providing land and health care. So I pray, that in reading this you'll become aware of their plight too and you'll help to make others aware too.

Our visit

Despite, the issues I've mentioned, the tribe we visited were ones that had a glimmer of hope. One of the Reverends in the Kigezi Diocese had been filled with compassion for this tribe and had been able to buy a small plot of land for them so they were no longer homeless. They were also next to a school and some of their children were attending it, so they were becoming educated. Liz said that they were a lot cleaner then when she had previously seen them, and sanitation appeared to be on the increase, they had a toilet and a drying rack that we could see.

However, the houses they lived in were pitiful:

Some of the Butwa's houses and general living 'facilities'

Not only were the homes tiny, but they were for the whole family and it was all the living space they had. They all slept in their and they cooked in their. I actually don't know how they fitted. But, Liz said it was an improvement from the last time she'd seen them, so we can only pray that a difference to their lives will continue to occur.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echuya_Batwa but from a quote taken from the first periodical Report of Uganda to the African Commission on Human and People's Rights
2 http://www.friends-of-bwindi.org/batwa.php