Furiiru people

The Fuliiru people are a Bantu ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the east-central highlands of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They reside in the South Kivu Province, situated south of Lake Kivu and to the north and northwest of Uvira Territory, along the Ruzizi Plain near the border with Rwanda and Burundi, where a contingent of Fuliiru also resides. According to the 2009 census, their population estimate exceeded 250,000, while a 1999 estimate of Kifuliiru-language speakers placed the number at 300,000. The Fuliiru are renowned for their skilled craftsmanship, particularly in the production of pottery and basketry. Their handcrafted baskets are highly coveted for their intricate designs and exceptional quality, and are frequently employed for storage, decoration, and even as musical instruments. The Fuliiru, like many other communities in the eastern part of the DRC, face ongoing challenges related to access to basic needs such as clean water, healthcare, and education. Furthermore, they also face issues related to land disputes, political marginalization, and human rights abuses. The Fuliiru women and girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence amplified by the region's persistent armed conflicts, which have resulted in the prevalence of a pervasive culture of impunity. During the colonial era, the nomenclature employed to identify the Bafuliiru perplexed several historians and anthropologists. In the Belgian Congo, the Bafuliiru were often termed as "Bafulero" and inhabited a region commonly recognized as "Bufuliro" or "Bufulero" by numerous Belgian colonial administrators, anthropologists, and historians. However, the term for the ethnic group is "Bafuliiru" or "Bafuliru," with "Mufuliiru" serving as a term to describe an individual belonging to the community. The Bafuliiru are not homogeneous people. Rather, it is an amalgamation of people of diverse origins, a kind of multicultural state, with six distinct origins.