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36-571: The rock arts are in granite formations and consist of art depictions attributed to the hunter gatherer community of BaTwa who lived here during the stone age period, and of the farming community of Chewa who are traced to the Iron Age period. In view of this cultural importance, the area was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006 under Criteria III for the rich cultural traditions of rock art and Criteria VI for its continued link to present society. The rock art symbolizing rituals and ceremonies

72-410: A Late Stone Age habitation of the site by hunter gatherers who are credited with creation of some of this rock art. Iron Age settlements are traced from 1st millennium AD when a white rock art form, consisting of natural figures made with white clay, was depicted by the farmers. The farming community and the hunter gatherers worked in unison until the 19th century when the latter group were subsumed into

108-452: A gradual blending of the two communities across a broad area, or it may manifest itself as a sharp boundary line. The word ecotone was coined (and its etymology given) in 1904 in "The Development and Structure of Vegetation" (Lincoln, Nebraska: Botanical Seminar) by Frederic E. Clements. It is formed as a combination of ecology plus -tone , from the Greek tonos or tension – in other words,

144-538: A greater presence in the region. Oral history and anthropological evidence substantiate their Indigenous status, showing no signs of a prior migration. The arrival of the Hutu and the Tutsi (as they are ethnically acknowledged today) around 1100 AD marked the onset of Twa subjugation, a practice that was sustained during precolonial and colonial periods and into the era of post-colonial conflict As largely hunter gatherer populations,

180-525: A lack of education facilities, HIV as well as violence and discrimination against women and girls were higher among Batwa communities than among the neighboring Bantu communities. The Twa People of Rwanda are connected to a broader population of Twa Peoples, and one of three main ethnic groups, alongside the Hutu and the Tutsi . While their population numbers have decreased significantly–comprising around 0.2-0.7% of

216-432: A place where ecologies are in tension. There are several distinguishing features of an ecotone. First, an ecotone can have a sharp vegetation transition, with a distinct line between two communities. For example, a change in colors of grasses or plant life can indicate an ecotone. Second, a change in physiognomy (physical appearance of a plant species) can be a key indicator. Water bodies, such as estuaries, can also have

252-483: A region of transition, and the boundary is characterized by the differences in heights of the macrophytes or plant species present in the areas because this distinguishes the two areas' accessibility to light. Scientists look at color variations and changes in plant height. Third, a change of species can signal an ecotone. There will be specific organisms on one side of an ecotone or the other. Other factors can illustrate or obscure an ecotone, for example, migration and

288-610: A symbol of the Chewa secret society of the Nyau people. The rock art sites are categorized under four traditions, two belong to the BaTwa Pygmies, the earliest community of hunter gatherers, the agriculturists, the Ngoni invaders, and the colonizers. Details of three of the sites which are open to the public are: The Chentcherere Rock Art Site forming the core area where six rock shelters are located in

324-671: Is incidental to the social identity of the Pygmy/Twa. Twa live scattered throughout the Congo . In addition to the Great Lakes Twa of the dense forests under the Ruwenzoris , there are notable populations in the swamp forest around Lake Tumba in the west (about 14,000 Twa, more than the Great Lakes Twa in all countries), in the forest– savanna swamps of Kasai in the south-center, and in

360-570: Is mostly the creation of the women of Chewa clan. The "agropastoralist" art form of the tribes, which represents their perception of use and control of their natural habitat, was continued by the Bantu tribes in Chongoni. The rock art sites are near the mountainous region of Dedza (1,600 metres (5,200 ft)) which is the highest town in Malawi (about (80 kilometres (50 mi)) south-east of Lilongwe ) which

396-647: Is used to cover a number of different cultural groups, while many Batwa in various parts of the DRC call themselves Bambuti. Arab and colonial accounts speak of Twa on either side of the Lomami River southwest of Kisangani , and on the Tshuapa River and its tributary the "Bussera". Among the Mongo , on the rare occasions of caste mixing, the child is raised as Twa. If this is a common pattern with Twa groups, it may explain why

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432-662: The Chongoni Forest Reserve . The rock art and archaeological sites of Chongoni are protected under The Monuments and Relics Act of 1990. The Chongoni Forest Reserve, declared a protected area under the Forestry Act of 1997, provides further protection as it encompasses most of the rock art sites. Archaeological antiquaries of the early Stone Age period found in the area provides links to the Upper Pleistocene . Artifacts dated to 2,500 BP have also been found establishing

468-719: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda living mainly in areas bordering other Bantu Tribes. In 1992 the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest became a national park and a World Heritage Site to protect the 350 endangered mountain gorillas within its boundaries. As a result, the Batwa were evicted from the park. Since they had no title to the land, they were given no compensation. The Batwa became conservation refugees in an unforested environment unfamiliar to them. Poverty, drugs and alcohol abuse were rampant, as well as

504-488: The Ligbi , also their own languages. A mismatch in language between patron and client could later occur from population displacements. The short stature of the "forest people" could have developed in the millennia since the Bantu expansion , as happened also with Bantu domestic animals in the rainforest. Perhaps there was additional selective pressure from farmers taking the tallest women back to their villages as wives. However, that

540-756: The Chentcherere hills, described as in the "schematic and naturalistic" styles; the Namzeze Rock Art Site which consists of paintings in red geometrical pattern and several paintings in white colour; and the Mphunzi Rock Art Site which are " zoomorphism " paintings. Batwa The Twa , often referred to as Batwa or Mutwa (singular), are indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of the Great Lakes Region in Central Africa, recognized as some of

576-471: The Congo), Baaka (Lobaye Forest, Central African Republic), and Bambendjelle (Ndoki Forest, Congo-Brazzaville and Central African Republic). All Pygmy and Twa populations live near or in agricultural villages. Agricultural Bantu peoples have settled a number of ecotones next to an area that has game but will not support agriculture, such as the edges of the rainforest, open swamp, and desert. The Twa spend part of

612-444: The Ngoni, move to hiding places. It is this Nyau community, in spite of opposition from the Ngoni, the missionaries and the colonial administration of the country, who have ensured preservation of their culture. After the area was declared a Forest Reserve in 1924 and boundaries of villages demarcated, the first rock art finding was reported in the 1930s, and later in 1950s details of a few sites were published. Five rock art sites out of

648-457: The Taabwa. The former is reported to be the territory of Bemba-speaking Twa. Ecotone An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and grassland ecosystems ). An ecotone may appear on the ground as

684-649: The Twa are less physically distinct from their patrons than the Mbenga and Mbuti, where village men take Pygmy women out of the forest as wives. The Congolese variant of the name, at least in Mongo, Kasai, and Katanga, is Cwa . The Batwa of Uganda were forest dwellers who lived by gathering and hunting as their main source of food. They are believed to have lived in the Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National parks that border

720-576: The Twa fish in Southern Province , where the swampy terrain means that large-scale crops cannot be planted near the best fishing grounds. The geneticist Cavalli-Sforza also shows Twa near Lake Mweru on the Zambia–Congo border. There are two obvious possibilities: the Luapula Swamps , and the swamps of Lake Mweru Wantipa . The latter is Taabwa territory, and the Twa are reported to live among

756-565: The Twa for access and woodland territories decreased, the dependence on agricultural and pastoral resources increased, and a number of Twa struggled to maintain their way of life. Twa historical contributions and their indigeneity to the land constitute a vital foundation in the building of the socio-cultural landscape that currently exists in Rwanda today. Twa culture plays a major role in the oral traditions of history and mythology of neighboring groups as an autochthonous people–the earliest settlers of

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792-451: The Twa were experts of the woodland landscape, well versed in acquiring both plant and animal food sources for hundreds of years before herders and farmers began to clear large sections of forests—decimating arable land for agriculture and livestock. This decimation led to a significant decrease in livelihood for the Twa, who sustained themselves by providing forest resources and goods to other populations–as these populations no longer relied on

828-404: The abundance of introduced species in an ecotone can reveal the type of biome or efficiency of the two communities sharing space. Because an ecotone is the zone in which two communities integrate, many different forms of life have to live together and compete for space. Therefore, an ecotone can create a diverse ecosystem. Changes in the physical environment may produce a sharp boundary , as in

864-520: The earliest inhabitants of the area. Historically and academically, the term “Pygmy” has been used to describe these groups, however, it is considered derogatory, particularly by the Twa themselves. While some Batwa activists accept the term as an acknowledgement of their indigenous status, most prefer specific ethnic labels such as Bambuti (for the Ituri Forest region in the Democratic Republic of

900-419: The ecotone as far as their ability to maintain themselves allows. Beyond this competitors of the adjacent community take over. As a result, the ecotone represents a shift in dominance. Ecotones are particularly significant for mobile animals, as they can exploit more than one set of habitats within a short distance. The ecotone contains not only species common to the communities on both sides; it may also include

936-417: The establishment of new plants. These are known as spatial mass effects, which are noticeable because some organisms will not be able to form self-sustaining populations if they cross the ecotone. If different species can survive in both communities of the two biomes, then the ecotone is considered to have species richness ; ecologists measure this when studying the food chain and success of organisms. Lastly,

972-410: The example of the interface between areas of forest and cleared land . Elsewhere, a more gradually blended interface area will be found, where species from each community will be found together as well as unique local species. Mountain ranges often create such ecotones, due to the wide variety of climatic conditions experienced on their slopes . They may also provide a boundary between species due to

1008-570: The farming group. It was in the 15th century that the Maravi Chewa group (after whom the country is named as Malawi) migrated from the northwestern region of Lubaland , unified all the groups and established the Maravi Empire . Then followed the Ngoni people who fled from South Africa and settled in the southern region of the Chongoni area. This resulted in the local Nyau people, who were opposed to

1044-407: The land–they occupied critical positions of power in governance and presided over ceremonial traditions to honor the vitality of the earth, reflecting their long-standing and influential impact on the region. Southern Angola through central Namibia had Twa populations when Europeans first arrived in the 16th century. Estermann writes, The southern Twa today live in close economic symbiosis with

1080-583: The obstructive nature of their terrain . Mont Ventoux in France is a good example, marking the boundary between the flora and fauna of northern and southern France . Most wetlands are ecotones. The spatial variation of ecotones often form due to disturbances, creating patches that separate patches of vegetation. Different intensity of disturbances can cause landslides, land shifts, or movement of sediment that can create these vegetation patches and ecotones. Plants in competition extend themselves on one side of

1116-502: The population, with estimates ranging from 20,000 to 36,000 individuals according to various sources. The Twa in Rwanda have been designated as “Historically Marginalized People (HMP) a term that reflects their history of discrimination, prejudice, and exclusion. Their vulnerability is underscored by reports that highlight their status as one of the most disadvantaged groups in the country. The Twa today make up less than one percent of Rwanda’s population. Historically, however, they held

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1152-603: The savanna swamps scattered throughout Katanga in the south-east, as in the Upemba Depression with its floating islands , and around Kiambi on the Luvua River . The island of Idjwi has a native population of approx 7000 BaTwa. According to UNHRW more than 10,000 BaTwa are displaced from Virunga Park in the Northern Kivu province's refugee camps such as Mugunga and Mubambiro due to decades of war. The term Batwa

1188-505: The total 127 sites were then declared in 1969 as protected national monuments. They were also opened to viewing by the public. Following migration of Chewa agriculturalists into the area, white clay was the medium used for painting while their predecessors, BaTwa Pygmies , had the tradition of using red colour in their paintings. This tradition is in vogue even now and is connected with rituals for women's initiation, to usher rain and for other funerary related rites. The rock art also serves as

1224-591: The tribes among which they are scattered— Ngambwe , Havakona , Zimba and Himba . None of the individuals I have observed differs physically from the neighboring Bantu. These peoples live in desert environments. Accounts are limited and tend to confuse the Twa with the San . The Twa of these countries live in swampy areas, such as the Twa fishermen of the Bangweulu Swamps , Lukanga Swamp , and Kafue Flats of Zambia ; only

1260-454: The year in the otherwise uninhabited region hunting game, trading for agricultural products with the farmers while they do so. Roger Blench has proposed that Twa (Pygmies) originated as a caste like they are today, much like the Numu blacksmith castes of West Africa , economically specialized groups which became endogamous and consequently developed into separate ethnic groups, sometimes, as with

1296-465: Was settled during pre-historic times. It is reported to be the “densest cluster of rock art” in Central Africa . The 127 sites identified in the Malawi plateau are spread over an area of 126.4 square kilometres (48.8 sq mi). Located on the hill slopes of the forested area, the projecting rocks provide protection to the rock art sites. Of the 127 sites, five are outside the demarcated limits of

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