This page contains two version of the list of Kings of Burundi, the traditional version and the modern genealogy.
The names of the Kings of Burundi followed a cycle, Ntare (meaning 'lion'), Mwezi (meaning 'moon'), Mutaga, and Mwambutsa. Traditionally, it was thought that there had been four complete cycles but the more modern genealogy indicates that there were only two complete cycles, starting with Ntare III Rushatsi.
In the 16th century, Burundi was a kingdom characterized by a hierarchical political authority and tributary economic exchange. A king (mwani) headed a princely aristocracy (gwana) which owned most of the land and required a tribute, or tax, from local farmers and herders. The kings continued through the colonial period, but each of the last kings was deposed in a coup d'état.
Kings of Burundi
The traditional list of Kings of Burundi. The dates before 1900 are estimates.
Ntare I Kivimira Savuyimba Semunganzashamba Rushatsi Kambarantama: c.1530–c.1550
Burundi is one of the few countries in Africa, along with its closely linked neighbour Rwanda, to be a direct territorial continuation of an ancient African state.
The king, known as the mwami headed a princely aristocracy (gwana) which owned most of the land and required a tribute, or tax, from local farmers and herders.
Burundi's first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, of the Hutu-dominated Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) Party, was elected in 1993.
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