what is Burundian literature?
The earliest inhabitants of the country that is nowadays called Burundi were the Twa, hunter-gatherer Pygmies. Around the year 1000 CE, the land attracted its first farmers, the Hutu. The Tutsi came only in the 16th century to establish the monarchy of Ntare I. Curiously, Burundi is one of the very few African countries whose frontiers have not been designed by any colonial power; they reflect the contours of that pre-colonial kingdom. Nonetheless, just like in neighbouring Rwanda, the population composed of a Hutu majority and a Tutsi minority created an explosive mix, even if both peoples speak a Bantu language Rundi (Kirundi), a fact contributing to the linguistic homogeneity of the country, which is also an exception in Africa. As it is believed, the interethnic balance was spoiled by the German and Belgian colonisers, their passion for physical anthropology, and the belief in the racial superiority of the taller, lighter-skinned Tutsi, who gained the preference of the colonial administration. Burundi was a part of the German Protectorate of East Africa (1890); after the ww1, as the mandate of Ruanda-Urundi, they were under Belgian administration. The country became independent in 1962, yet ever since, it suffered from occasional surges of interethnic violence. It culminated in the massacres of the 1990s, just like in the most famous case of Rwanda (although the retaliatory genocide in this case tended to reverse the balance).
Burundian literature seems very young. Roland Rugero, working as a journalist since 2008, is one of the most recognizable authors. His novel Baho! speaks of a mute teenager Nyamuragi who tries to communicate with a young girl Kigeme. He is just seeking a toilet, but his gestures are understood in quite a different way. This is why he is accused of sexual assault and suffers the aggression of the mob for this reason. Nonetheless, the writer tries to portray a wider mechanism of collective violence, starting from the imputation of impurity of a given person.
Burundian literature seems very young. Roland Rugero, working as a journalist since 2008, is one of the most recognizable authors. His novel Baho! speaks of a mute teenager Nyamuragi who tries to communicate with a young girl Kigeme. He is just seeking a toilet, but his gestures are understood in quite a different way. This is why he is accused of sexual assault and suffers the aggression of the mob for this reason. Nonetheless, the writer tries to portray a wider mechanism of collective violence, starting from the imputation of impurity of a given person.
I have read... nothing ...
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I have written... nothing ...
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