The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

The origins of the failure of equality: The myths of inequality: Very early,
it seems, was born the myth of inequality between the three Rwandans,
Gahutu, Gatwa Gatutsi, which contradicted the fraternal equality of origins.
We will cite two here: the myth of the keeping of the milk, and the
myth of the eldest month. There are others of the same genre:
Imana, the God of Rwanda, confided to the custody of the three brothers
three jars of milk. Gatwa, unable to control his thirst, drank his milk; Gahutu
fell asleep and spilled his jar; only Gatutsi kept his jar of milk intact
until Imana returned. Recognizing his superiority, he then appointed him
as chief over the other two.
The father of the three brothers had poor harvests because, not knowing
the eldest of the months, he sowed at the wrong season. He sent his
three children in Kimenyi (the man who knows), King of Gisaka, to ask
him which was the eldest of the months. En route, Gatwa stuffed himself
with everything he found on his journey, and arrived at Kimenyi ill;
Gahutu trusted in the first response of Kimenyi, who did not want to
give his knowledge to a competitor; Gatutsi, hidden in a corner of Kimenyi’s
house, caught him bragging to his wife that he had deceived the
naïve Rwandans and, in fact, the eldest month was Mutarama (January)
and not Ukwakira (October); Gatutsi reported the good answer, and was
appointed by his father as the chief over his brothers.
These myths tend to explain the inequality between Rwandans post
facto, there are others, which are all of the same genre. Even though
they represent a current of thought, these myths are all still part of the
context of Rwandan imagination and permanently block any creation of
real equality.
Clientelism: Clientelism, based on the granting of a cow in usufruct, is
known under the name ubuhake. It is practiced much more between
Tutsis and Tutsis than between Hutus and Tutsis, and it is therefore inappropriate
as an explanation of the origin of the genocide of Tutsis. Certainly,
it delayed democratic equality and even the spirit of democracy
for all Rwandans. One cannot say, except opportunistically, even if it is
a misconception, that ubuhake has exacerbated the Hutu-Tutsi confrontation,
and that it is thus at the roots of ethnic conflict and genocide.
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