Great Lakes Twa

Twa

Mutwa with traditional bow and arrow
Total population
80,000
Regions with significant populations
Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Uganda
Languages
Rundi, Kiga, French, English, Dutch (historically)
Religion
Majority Mbuti mythology Minority Christian[1]
Related ethnic groups
Hutu, Tutsi

The Great Lakes Twa, also known as Batwa (singular Mutwa), Abatwa or Ge-Sera, are a Bantu speaking group native to the African Great Lakes region on the border of Central and East Africa. As an indigenous pygmy people, the Twa are generally assumed to be the oldest surviving population of the Great Lakes region. Current populations of Great Lakes Twa people live in the states of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2000 they numbered approximately 80,000 people, making them a significant minority group in these countries.^[2] The largest population of Twa is located in Burundi estimated in 2008 at 78,071 people.^[3]

Apart from anthropological literature, the term "Twa" generally refers to the Twa of the Great Lakes region. There are a number of other Twa populations in the Congo forest, as well as southern Twa populations living in swamps and deserts where there has never been forest, but these are little known in the West.^{[citation needed]}