ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the precolonial historical development of Burundi and Rwanda in comparative perspective. It delineates some of their differences and similarities in terms of underlying cultural patterns and the social and political development of the monarchical states until the eve of the colonial entanglement. The chapter also situates them in the context of the Great Lakes region. The idea of the Great Lakes region of Central Africa is bound up with colonial epistemologies. It is also an amorphous area in a contemporary geographical sense. J. P. Chretien argues: On the various canvases of so-called traditional African civilisations, the Great Lakes region seems to stand out for its high degree of cohesion. The region has centralised polities, common religious references, intense human density, and similar languages, all of which underlie a contrast with neighbouring areas.
