Hutu

Hutu

Th e Hutu people originate from the Great Lakes Region of Africa, particularly from Burundi and Rwanda. Hutus make up the ethnic majority of Rwanda while the largest minority ethnic group are Tutsi. Th e two ethnic groups experienced a brutal con fl ict resulting in genocide in the last half of the 20th century in both Rwanda and Burundi. Th ere are many theories that explain the di ff erences between the two ethnic groups, including genetic di ff erences and physical appearance, however, the most common explanation is that the con fl ict and distinctions occurred due to social constructions of di ff erence. During the 1994 Rwandan Genocide up to three quarters of the Tutsi population were killed, as were thousands of Hutus who opposed the violence against the Tutsi population.