The Twa are a pygmy people, of short stature, who were the oldest recorded inhabitants of an area in central Africa that now comprises the nations of Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Generally speaking, pygmy (from Greek pygmaios, fist sized, a kind of dwarf in Greek mythology) can refer to any human or animal of unusually small size, for example, the pygmy hippopotamus. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ...

When the Hutu, a Bantu-derived people, arrived in the region, they dominated the Twa. Around the 15th century AD, the Tutsi, a Bantu people, subsequently arrived, possibly from Ethiopia, and dominated both the Twa and the Hutu. The Twa speak the same language, Kinyarwanda, as the Hutu and Tutsi. For several hundred years, the Twa have been a very small minority in the area (currently 1% in Rwanda and Burundi) and have had little political role. They are often ignored in discussions about the conflict between Hutus and Tutsis, which reached its height in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Hutu is the name given to one of the three ethnic groups occupying Burundi and Rwanda. ... The Bantu refer to over 400 different ethnic groups in Africa, from Cameroon to South Africa, united by a common language family, the Bantu languages, and in many cases common customs. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... The Tutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa: the other two being the Twa and the Hutu. ... The Bantu refer to over 400 different ethnic groups in Africa, from Cameroon to South Africa, united by a common language family, the Bantu languages, and in many cases common customs. ... Contents // Categories: Bantu languages | Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Languages of Rwanda | Languages of Uganda | Language stubs ... The skulls of victims show gashes and signs of violence The Rwandan genocide was the organized murder of up to one million Rwandans in 1994. ...