RWANDA

also spelled Ruanda, officially Republic of Rwanda, French Rpublique Rwandaise, Rwanda Republika y'u Rwanda landlocked republic lying south of the Equator in east-central Africa. It is bounded on the west by Congo (Kinshasa) and Lake Kivu, on the north by Uganda, on the east by Tanzania, and on the south by Burundi. The capital is Kigali. Like its neighbour to the south, Rwanda is a country of minute dimensions (10,169 square miles [26,338 square kilometres]), grinding poverty, and high population density. Rwanda also shares with Burundi a long history of monarchical rule. Unlike what happened in Burundi, however, the demise of the Rwandan kingship came about through a grass-roots, Hutu-led upheaval that reached its denouement before the country became independent. In Rwanda the state was forged from the ground up, in the crucible of a peasant revolution. For this reason, if Rwanda is described as an ethnocracy, the term nonetheless carries a distinctly democratic connotation inasmuch as the Hutu represent the overwhelming majority of the population. also spelled Ruanda, officially Republic of Rwanda, French Rpublique Rwandaise, Rwanda Repubulika y'u Rwanda, landlocked republic lying south of the Equator in east-central Africa. It is bounded on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) and Lake Kivu, on the north by Uganda, on the east by Tanzania, and on the south by Burundi. The capital is Kigali. Area 10,169 square miles (26,338 square km). Pop. (1991) 7,164,994 (1997 est.) 7,738,000. Additional reading J.F. Gotanegre, Christian Prioul, and Pierre Sirven, Gographie du Rwanda (1974); and Christian Prioul and Pierre Sirven (eds.), Atlas du Rwanda (1981), provide introductions. The standard work on history is Jan Vansina, L'volution du royaume du Rwanda des origines 1900 (1962). For insights into the rituals and traditions of the monarchy, see Marcel D'Hertefelt and Andr Coupez (eds.), La Royaut sacre de l'ancien Rwanda (1964). For a detailed analysis of the dynamics of ethnicity in prerevolutionary Rwanda, Catharine Newbury, The Cohesion of Oppression (1988), remains unsurpassed. The role of the church prior to and during the revolution is analyzed in Ian Linden and Jane Linden, Church and Revolution in Rwanda (1977). Jean-Paul Harroy, Rwanda (1984), is a general survey of the transition to independence, by a former high-ranking colonial civil servant. The country's recent political history is discussed at length in Ren Lemarchand, Rwanda and Burundi (1970); and Filip Reyntjens, Pouvoir et droit au Rwanda (1985). Ren Lemarchand Administration and social conditions Government The constitution promulgated in 1978 established a presidential form of government. The president at the time, Juvnal Habyarimana, combined the roles of head of state and head of government with that of president of what was then the single ruling party, the National Revolutionary Movement for Development. He was returned to office by referenda in 1983 and 1988. A revised constitution was enacted in 1991 that allowed for multiparty participation in government. In 1994, however, after Habyarimana's death, the country slipped into chaos before elections could be held. The legislative body under the 1978 constitution, the unicameral National Development Council, was replaced by the Transitional National Assembly in 1994, which enacted another constitution in 1995. Education About three-fifths of the population is literate. In the early 1990s more than two-thirds of the primary-school-age population was enrolled, but the civil strife that began in 1994 severely disrupted the school system. Even prior to 1994, few Rwandans attended secondary schools, as those had space for only 10 percent of the primary school graduates. The National University of Rwanda (1963) has campuses in Butare and Ruhengeri. Cultural life The arts Much of Rwanda's traditional cultural heritage revolved around dances, praise songs, and dynastic poems designed to enhance the legitimacy of the Tutsi kingship. Since independence in 1962 another set of traditions has emerged, emphasizing a different cultural stream, identified with a Hutu heritage. Regional dances, including the celebrated hoe dance of the north, are given pride of place in the country's cultural repertoire. Traditional crafts such as basketry, ceramics, and ironworks provide another element of continuity with the past. Cultural institutions Rwanda's National Ballet and the Impala Orchestra add considerable lustre to the country's cultural life, the former through a choreography leaning heavily on traditional folk dances and the latter through a distinctly modern musical repertoire. The Association des crivains du Rwanda (AER) keeps alive the best of Rwanda's literary traditions, while the bimonthly review Dialogue provides a forum for a vigorous intellectual exchange on a wide range of social and cultural issues.