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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2018; 76(04): 277-282
DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X20180022
Historical Note

Phrenology and the Rwandan Genocide

Frenologia e o Genocídio de Ruanda
Charles André
1   Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Neurologia, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil
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ABSTRACT

Belgian colonizers used phrenology to create an irreducible division between the two major groups living for centuries in Rwanda-Urundi. This formed the basis for the implementation of systematic efforts to subdue the large Hutu population. Both the Hutus and the smaller, and initially privileged, Tutsi group soon incorporated the racist discourse, which was pivotal to the gradual increase in violence before and after Rwandan independence in 1962. The Rwandan genocide in 1994 culminated in the horrible pinnacle of this process, involving recurrent episodes of slaughtering. Doctors should not underestimate the racist potential of pseudoscientific misconceptions.

RESUMO

Os colonizadores belgas usaram a frenologia para criar uma divisão irredutível entre os dois maiores grupos populacionais vivendo há séculos em Ruanda-Urundi. Isso criou as bases para a implementação de esforços sistemáticos para subjugar a grande população Hutu. Tanto os Hutu quanto o grupo menor e inicialmente privilegiado dos Tutsi logo incorporaram o discurso racista, que foi crucial no aumento gradual da violência antes e após a independência de Ruanda em 1962. O genocídio de 1994 constituiu o terrível ápice deste processo envolvendo massacres repetidos. Os médicos não devem subestimar o potencial racista e discriminatório de falsas concepções pseudocientíficas.

Keywords:

genocide - history - 20th century - phrenology - racism

Palavras-chave:

genocídio - história do século 20 - frenologia - racismo


Publication History

Received: 26 November 2017

Accepted: 08 January 2018

Article published online:
28 August 2023

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