1st July: Burundi Independence Day

Today is Independence Day in Burundi. Here are 10 things you might not know about Burundi.

1. Burundi is a landlocked country in East Africa. Even though it is landlocked, it has beaches and a port (the capital city, Bujumbura) as much of the southwestern border is on Lake Tanganyika (which is also the deepest lake in Africa and the second deepest in the world.
2. The Twa, Hutu and Tutsi peoples have lived in Burundi for at least five hundred years. The first European colonists were the Germans. After the first World War, they had to give Burundi to Belgium, which ruled it until Burundi declared independence in 1962.
3. Burundi is a very poor country. It ranks as the hungriest country in the world and one study found that the people there have the lowest satisfaction with life of any country surveyed. Only 2% of the total population has a bank account. Burundi's currency is the Burundian franc.
4. The economy is largely agricultural, and consists mostly of families working the land to support themselves, although they do export Tea and Coffee. The Tutsi people are herders by tradition and this is reflected in their language. The greeting, "Amashyo", translates as "May you have herds of cattle." When a Cow dies, the family eats its meat and then plants its horns in the soil near the house to bring good luck.
5. The highest peak is Mount Heha at 2,685 m (8,810 ft).
6. Burundi is divided into 17 provinces, 117 communes and 2,638 collines. Colline is a French word for hill.
7. Drumming is an important part of the culture of Burundi. The karyenda, a type of African drum, appeared on Burundi's flag and coat of arms until 1966, and is afforded an almost sacred status. Drums are used in rituals (such as when the mwami, or king, got up and went to bed), on special occasions like weddings, funerals and royal coronations. The drums would be kept in special guarded sanctuaries when not in use, and would be given names, like "dispenser of peace" or "lady of the land".
8. Jogging was banned in the capital in 2014. People started running on Sunday mornings during the ethnic conflicts. They would run in groups, as a way to deal with their fear and frustration at the situation. However, President Pierre Nkurunziza feared that some running groups were actually subversives using their runs to plot violent demonstrations, and had jogging banned. Twenty-one people were actually sentenced to life in prison for jogging. All sports must now take place in nine parks in Bujumbura and other designated Football pitches.
9. Some people believe that the source of the River Nile is in Burundi. The Ruvyironza, which emerges in Bururi Province, is a feeder to the Kagera River, which in turn flows into Lake Victoria, from whence the Nile flows. It is one of two possible locations for the source of the Nile, the other being in Rwanda.
10. Burundi has an exiled princess. Princess Esther Kamatari grew up in Burundi as a member of the royal family, but fled the country after her father was assassinated in 1970. She went to Paris and became a model and writer. She married a doctor, had two children called Jade and Arthur, and is involved in humanitarian work for her home country.

My Books

As well as this blog, I also write fiction and have published two novels (Death and Faxes and Glastonbury Swan) and a collection of short stories (Jigsaw). If you like ghost stories, crime stories, a bit of romance and anything slightly bizarre you might enjoy them. 

Further details on my books page

See how I write fiction on my writing blog.