process for training Seba Maat (moral teachers in
the Maatian tradition), and developed the Husia
project to provide original and new translations
and commentaries for the instruction.
Finally, he and Us called the first Ancient
Egyptian Studies Conference in 1984 and invited
other scholars and interested persons as a way to
introduce and advance the project. Out of this,
they also formed a professional association called
the Association for the Study of Classical African
Civilizations to continue the project. Through
these initiatives, especially the work surrounding
the Husia and the study and teaching of the sacred
texts it contains, it was anticipated that a new
Maatian tradition would evolve and provide
the context for developing Maatian thought as an
important philosophic option of addressing criti-
cal issues of our time from an African-centered
vantage point. It was also anticipated that it
would provide the further development of an
Afrocentric contribution to addressing enduring
questions that confront humanity and the world.
Maulana KarengaSeealsoBook of the Coming Forth by Day(The Book
of the Dead); Maat; Ra
Further Readings
Karenga, M. (1984).Selections From the Husia:Sacred
Wisdom of Ancient Egypt. Los Angeles: University of
Sankore Press.
Karenga, M. (1990).The Book of the Coming Forth by
Day:The Ethics of the Declarations of Innocence.
Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press.
Karenga, M. (2006).Maat,The Moral Ideal in Ancient
Egypt:A Study in Classical African Ethics. Los
Angeles: University of Sankore Press.
HUTU
The Hutu are the majority ethnic group in the
countries of Burundi and Rwanda; the division of
these countries is a result of European colonial-
ism. With a population of 15 million, the Hutu
represent more than 85% of the populations of
the two countries; the remaining populations in
those countries are the Tutsi and the Twa, with the
Twa having about 1% and the rest of the people
belonging to a Tutsi identity.
It is thought that the Hutu arrived in the area
from Central Africa or from Ethiopia more than
2,000 years ago. During the first centuries of
their existence, the people were hunters and
farmers, but gradually became farmers who
worked the land with expert skill. In fact, in
Hutu society, the person who is the best farmer
is considered to be a highly valuable member of
the community. Thus, people seek to discover
new ways of planting on the hillsides that com-
prise the countries. Well-tended farms with
extensive lines dividing the farms show the
respect, beauty, and pride of the people.
Hutu social existence is based on the family
and clan. It is a common pattern among African
groups, and it serves to protect the spiritual link-
age to the first ancestor. This is why the Hutu had
Bahinza, kings, who ruled over limited domin-
ions. These Bahinza were able to combine several
clan groups under their rule and to exercise rights
of solving land disputes, kinship issues, as well
as health matters. This was the model of Hutu
life prior to the coming of Europeans with
Catholicism.
Indeed, the Tutsi, who had lived among the
Hutu for centuries, almost as the same people,
also had the same clan structure. In fact, there is
hardly any difference between the two groups.
When one examines their language, customs, and
traditions, no real differences exist between the
people except the consciousness of a separation
based on the legacy of the colonial powers, privi-
lege, discrimination, and behavioral practices.
Once intellectuals and traditionalists of the society
have dealt with these critical issues, there should
be a more reasonable approach to the issues that
have caused so much death and destruction in the
region.
The Hutu people live in the rural areas of the
two countries. They have their picturesque vil-
lages of neat rondavals made of dried grass and
mud that comprise compounds for the family
farms. These structures are spread throughout
the hills of Rwanda and Burundi. Because these
are farm families, they honor farm work aboveHutu 323