Did You Know

Interesting Facts about Burundi

Trivia, oddities, and curious tidbits about Burundi.

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Did You Know?

17 curious facts about Burundi.

Burundi is known as “ The Heart of Africa” because of its shape and location within the continent.
The source of the Nile River, the longest river in the world, is in southern Burundi. Near the town of Rutana, a monument that marks the source of the White Nile is a Burundi tourist attraction.
The Twa people still live in the forests and mountains, hunting, fishing and gathering fruit, much as their ancestors did a thousand years ago. They are known for their fine pottery, which they sell or exchange for food and other goods.
Hospitality was once very important in Burundi. In the past, when people went on a journey, they would stop when they were tired or when night fell at any home. They could be sure of a welcome and a night's lodging. Today, because of the civil war, people are afraid to trust strangers and even their neighbours.

Ankole-Watusi cattle are native to Burundi. These animals, famous for their enormous horns, are called “ the cattle of kings.” They have been bred in the Nile Valley for thousands of years and appear in pictographs in the Egyptian pyramids. Tutsi kings and chiefs considered them sacred and kept them for milk, but rarely killed them for meat.
After the first presidential election held in 1993, the new President, Melchior Ndadaye, appointed a woman, Mrs. Sylvie Kinigi, as prime minister. It is the highest political office occupied by a Burundian woman since independence.
Vénuste Niyongabo, who competed in the 1996 Olympic Games, won the gold medal in the 5,000-metre race, the first-ever Olympic medal for Burundi.
Some herbal remedies require the skill of an abafumu, a practitioner believed to have special powers. For the medicines to be effective, the abafumu must pronounce incantations and give special instructions to both the sick person and family members or caregivers.
Although Burundi has several organizations that promote women's rights, women are still under-represented in school enrolment and their adult literacy rate is much lower than that of men.
Abashingantahe was a long-standing common-law system of justice practised among Burundians. Under this system, jurors were trained to dispense justice to those who broke the community's laws and codes of acceptable conduct.