Joe Patterson: Reading Religion and Culture in Liberia
A Brief History
Locating current publications about Liberia poses a problem for the student due to a long period of civil unrest and war. In 1980, President William R. Tolbert was assassinated by an indigenous Liberian named Samuel K. Doe. In 1989, Charles Taylor (one of Doe's former supporters) overthrew Doe's regime which resulted in his death and public display of his naked corpse. Taylor's regime sparked six years of civil war. Corruption and extortion were normative during these years. Soldiers were sent by ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) into Liberia in an attempt to bring peace to the war-torn nation.
These years of dysfunction resulted in the dismantling of electrical cable. It has been reported that electrical materials were sold on the black market to interests in other nations. The infrastructure was rendered useless. There has been no running water or electricity for many years. Conscripted youth were formed into various rebel armies. In 2003, the UNMIL (United Nations Mission in Liberia) peacekeepers brought a ceasefire of the rebels.
Traditional Culture and Religion in Liberia
According to the International Religious Freedom Report (2003), approximately forty percent of Liberians practice traditional, indigenous religion exclusively. (source) Tribes indigenous to West Africa who overlap into the territories of Liberia include Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende. Published resources for studying these tribes were limited in quantity and scope. However, the setting for this International Mission Practicum will include working with individuals from the Grebo and Kru people groups. My host, Pastor Richard Wesley comes from a Grebo lineage.
As well, neighbors who live in close proximity of the Greater Love Bible Baptist Church are known to have fled into Monrovia from Nimba County (home of fierce rebel troops in the most recent hostilities). Many of these people would most likely be from a Gio background. Finally, during my time in Liberia, a PBS special during Black History month revealed that popular American television personality, Oprah Winfrey, shares an exact DNA match with the Kpelle of Liberia. Therefore, a survey of these four tribes should suffice as a personally relevant introduction to traditional Liberian culture and religious principles.
Grebo: "It is believed that practitioners of traditional indigenous religions among the Grebo and Krahn ethnic groups most commonly engage in ritual killings, with the victims being members themselves of the religious group performing the ritual." Grebo are among the largest groups in Liberia located primarily in eastern Liberia (in the counties of Maryland, Lower Grand Gedeh, eastern Grand Kru, and southeastern Sinoe). Where traditional religion is practiced among the Grebo, a town will have its own high priest who is believed to possess certain supernatural powers. They also hold to belief in reincarnation. According to the Jesus Film project, the New Testament has been translated into E Je Grebo, 'but the complete Bible has not been published in this language. (the Grebo)
The night before I left for Liberia I talked with a man from the Kru tribe, Macdonald Wreh about traditional religions of Liberia. Mr. Wreh has been in America for 1.5 years. He shared with me his insights on those tribes which participated in ritualistic killings. He recounted the story of an entire county where government officials were reported to have eaten body parts of living victims in order to gain their power. He stated that these people were from the Grebo tribe. In the midst of my adventures, I did not remember to ask Pastor Wesley about this depiction of his relatives. I found Pastor Wesley to be a very kind and gentle man (although was a stern father in relationship with his children).
Kru: Macdonald Wreh affirmed that the Kru people have a reputation for being fierce if crossed. One aspect of the Kru people that I was able to find in my research was a discussion about the "Kru Money". These are rings of sizes ranging from those worn to the scale of 1 foot in diameter that weighs over 40 lbs. These rings were believed to contain power to be good luck charms, cure disease, protect from unfriendly spirits, answer questions, and assist with other tasks. Unfortunately, those who believe in these rings find the need to "feed" these rings. The sacrifices would vary from common foods such as rice and palm oil to human blood or body parts. Without such regular feedings, the ring is believed to "die" and then could be treated as common and used to trade. This belief in sacrificing to something that is made in order to empower it to do your bidding is not limited to the Kru people. (source)
Kpelle: The Kpelle are the largest ethnic group, about twenty percent, in Liberia. Life expectancy at birth is under 40 years; between 16 percent and 55 percent of all children born do not reach adulthood. 15 percent of Liberian Kpelle can be classified as urban dwellers.
Dr. Fiske (anthropologist from UCLA) states that polygamy is still the preferred marital type among the Kpelle. Child-rearing seems to follow this pattern: "Until age 2, children are very much indulged; from age 2-6, they are trained through threats and ridicule; after age 6, corporal punishment is frequently used. At all ages, curiousity is stifled and innovation actively discouraged."
Rites of passage among the Kpelle involve the initiation of boys en masse into the secret society called Poro (sometime between the age of 7-20). Scarification on the back, stomach, or chest is a common ritual during this time in their lives. For females, an inititiation into the women's Sande society may happen at the same stage of life. "Clitoridectomy and Labiadectomy are central features of female initiation. For both sexes, initiation in carried out by masked figures."
(source)
Gio: The Gio, like many other Liberian groups, are mostly farmers. They farm staple crops such as rice, cassava, and sweet potatoes. Also, like other groups, they have a religious system that extends authority to the oldest males or to the most agressive. Boys are initiated into secret societies and then kept in line by others in the group. (source)
Other Religious People Groups
U. S. State Department statistics cite that an additional forty percent of Liberians practice traditional Christianity or a syncretistic mix of Christianity and traditional indigenous religions. Christian groups represented in Liberia include Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterians, Roman Catholic, United Methodist, African-Methodist-Episcopal, and A.M.E. Zion denominations (as well as several independent pentecostal groups).
Our State Department lists the primary missionary groups as Baptist, Catholics, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Since the setting for this International Missions Practicum is in a Baptist context, I familiarized myself with the letters and memoirs of Pastor Richard Kla Wesley (President of the National Pastors' Fellowship Conference) and the filmed testimonies of two other religious leaders: Dr. Lincoln Brownell (President of the Liberian Baptist Theological Seminary) and Pastor Shadrach Saynon (Founder of Liberian Ministries Children's Village). Other Christian ministries in close proximity to Pastor Wesley's church include Christian Aid (Mennonite) and the Lutheran World Federation (led locally by Betty Crandall for nearly 30 years).
The third primary belief system cited by the U. S. State Department is Islam. This 20 percent segment of the population prevails among members of the Mandingo group. The Mandingo are concentrated in the northern and eastern counties. Another tribe who have embraced Islam are the Vai (in the northwest). Therefore, at the onset of my research I have purposed to learn about these two tribes, their culture, and their connection to Islam.
State Department briefings include societal attitudes which they have concluded exist between the major religious communities. Although the law prohibits religious discrimination, certain Islamic leaders have complained of societal discrimination against Muslims: "The private sector in urban areas, particularly in the capital, gives preference to Christianity in civic ceremonies and observances, and discrimination against followers of other organized religions reaches into areas of individual opportunity and employment."
On the internet are published records of an Inter-faith council comprised of religious leaders representing Christian and Islamic groups. Mr. Muhammed Arum Bajwah the Ameer (and Missionary in-Charge) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Liberia asserts that their religion is "a peaceful one that does not engage in any acts contrary to the teaching of God."
At the first of the year (during the 5th Jalsa Salana), he encouraged his listeners to peacefully co-exist with others within the country irrespective of ethnic and religious backgrounds. A published account of his speech quotes the Ameer as directing his colleagues to "forgive others as you would like others to forgive you." (allafrica.com January 5, 2006 see below)
Just prior to my departure for Liberia, Libyan Leader Col. Mummar Al Qaddafi announced a new African Strategy Project for 2006. "The new project styled "The Qaddafi Project" will target Liberians, African youths, children and women." It has been reported that Col. Qaddafi had once mentored Liberia's notorious former President Charles Taylor in guerilla warfare.
Sources:
Ellis, Stephen. The Mask of Anarchy.
New York: New York University Press, 1991.
I read The Mask of Anarchy during my stay in Liberia.
Comments are entered in my spiral-bound daily journal.
Click here to take a look inside the book.
for connection between Qaddafi and Taylor
Qaddafi's Strategic Project Targets Liberia, Others
The NEWS (Monrovia)
Jimmey C. Fahngon posted to the web: January 9, 2006
still online as of April 11, 2006 click here
Oprah Winfrey and the Kpelle: PBS: African American Lives
broadcast: February, 2006
about the Gio: (source) www.gateway-africa.com/tribe/Gio_tribe.html
accessed online: January 6, 2006
Islam: allafrica.com/stories/printable/200601050462.html (subscription required)
www.LiberianMinistries.com
a free DVD is available from this site. This contains the best historical footage we have seen to date.
*************
Addendum: Transcript of replies by Pastor Richard Kla Wesley
on my questions about Traditional Religion in Liberia
Pastor Wesley: "The traditional religion is a religion that takes to the worship of idols. To be specific-- they worship the rivers, the mountains, the devils which is representative of human agents. They worship certain ancestors. They worship fishes in the rivers. They worship evil spirits. They worship their leaders--town chiefs and people who are called zoes or witch doctors. The traditional religion is in a way harmful and dangerous.
No, it has nothing to do with Christianity as we see Christianity, but in certain circles, people tend to blend traditional religion with their so called "Christianity". But the powers to be in that "Christianity" is not God the Almighty, but the African voodoos and worship of animism is what they uphold as a way of life. So Christianity as we know it is far fetched from traditional religion because [real Christianity] is a Christianity that has mutual fellowship with God and strive to live a holy and perfect life honoring and glorifying God.
Another thing that is worth noting is that true Christianity exists even where the worship of animism is prevalent. Traditional religion makes a lot of show by putting up devil dances even in the cities and the master of traditional religion is the god of this world, Satan the Devil.
In Liberia they have a hast representation of other religions groups that are classified as cults. These religious groups are the same as they are found elsewhere: Church of the LDS, the Unification Church, Jehovah Witnesses, and the likes. As these religious groups do not believe or accept the deity of Christ, they are marked by extensive works as a provision for entrance into heaven.
Another religious group that is at the moment sweeping across the continent of Africa, Europe and other lands forming malicious groups under the pretext of fighting against injustices by way of taking lives and this religion is the Islamic religion which is also gaining massive roots in Liberia.
Christianity in Liberia may become dim if a strong evangelistic movement among Christendom is not prioritized because as it stands, Christianity is like a sandwich in the middle of cults that continue to threaten the soundness and wellness of true Christianity. We who are called to ministry must kneel down and pray and depend on God's sovereign power to lead, to deliver, and to plant or establish our feet on a firm foundation of the proclamation of the gospel. That is why God is working through and in ministries to join us in the relationship.
The reason why we think these traditional religions and cults are not a threat is because they are working under the cover of darkness and they are creeping unaware to take over Liberia and Africa as a whole. We must wake up with strong convictions and determination to proclaim God's great truth-- the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Locating current publications about Liberia poses a problem for the student due to a long period of civil unrest and war. In 1980, President William R. Tolbert was assassinated by an indigenous Liberian named Samuel K. Doe. In 1989, Charles Taylor (one of Doe's former supporters) overthrew Doe's regime which resulted in his death and public display of his naked corpse. Taylor's regime sparked six years of civil war. Corruption and extortion were normative during these years. Soldiers were sent by ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) into Liberia in an attempt to bring peace to the war-torn nation.
These years of dysfunction resulted in the dismantling of electrical cable. It has been reported that electrical materials were sold on the black market to interests in other nations. The infrastructure was rendered useless. There has been no running water or electricity for many years. Conscripted youth were formed into various rebel armies. In 2003, the UNMIL (United Nations Mission in Liberia) peacekeepers brought a ceasefire of the rebels.
Traditional Culture and Religion in Liberia
According to the International Religious Freedom Report (2003), approximately forty percent of Liberians practice traditional, indigenous religion exclusively. (source) Tribes indigenous to West Africa who overlap into the territories of Liberia include Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende. Published resources for studying these tribes were limited in quantity and scope. However, the setting for this International Mission Practicum will include working with individuals from the Grebo and Kru people groups. My host, Pastor Richard Wesley comes from a Grebo lineage.
As well, neighbors who live in close proximity of the Greater Love Bible Baptist Church are known to have fled into Monrovia from Nimba County (home of fierce rebel troops in the most recent hostilities). Many of these people would most likely be from a Gio background. Finally, during my time in Liberia, a PBS special during Black History month revealed that popular American television personality, Oprah Winfrey, shares an exact DNA match with the Kpelle of Liberia. Therefore, a survey of these four tribes should suffice as a personally relevant introduction to traditional Liberian culture and religious principles.
Grebo: "It is believed that practitioners of traditional indigenous religions among the Grebo and Krahn ethnic groups most commonly engage in ritual killings, with the victims being members themselves of the religious group performing the ritual." Grebo are among the largest groups in Liberia located primarily in eastern Liberia (in the counties of Maryland, Lower Grand Gedeh, eastern Grand Kru, and southeastern Sinoe). Where traditional religion is practiced among the Grebo, a town will have its own high priest who is believed to possess certain supernatural powers. They also hold to belief in reincarnation. According to the Jesus Film project, the New Testament has been translated into E Je Grebo, 'but the complete Bible has not been published in this language. (the Grebo)
The night before I left for Liberia I talked with a man from the Kru tribe, Macdonald Wreh about traditional religions of Liberia. Mr. Wreh has been in America for 1.5 years. He shared with me his insights on those tribes which participated in ritualistic killings. He recounted the story of an entire county where government officials were reported to have eaten body parts of living victims in order to gain their power. He stated that these people were from the Grebo tribe. In the midst of my adventures, I did not remember to ask Pastor Wesley about this depiction of his relatives. I found Pastor Wesley to be a very kind and gentle man (although was a stern father in relationship with his children).
Kru: Macdonald Wreh affirmed that the Kru people have a reputation for being fierce if crossed. One aspect of the Kru people that I was able to find in my research was a discussion about the "Kru Money". These are rings of sizes ranging from those worn to the scale of 1 foot in diameter that weighs over 40 lbs. These rings were believed to contain power to be good luck charms, cure disease, protect from unfriendly spirits, answer questions, and assist with other tasks. Unfortunately, those who believe in these rings find the need to "feed" these rings. The sacrifices would vary from common foods such as rice and palm oil to human blood or body parts. Without such regular feedings, the ring is believed to "die" and then could be treated as common and used to trade. This belief in sacrificing to something that is made in order to empower it to do your bidding is not limited to the Kru people. (source)
Kpelle: The Kpelle are the largest ethnic group, about twenty percent, in Liberia. Life expectancy at birth is under 40 years; between 16 percent and 55 percent of all children born do not reach adulthood. 15 percent of Liberian Kpelle can be classified as urban dwellers.
Dr. Fiske (anthropologist from UCLA) states that polygamy is still the preferred marital type among the Kpelle. Child-rearing seems to follow this pattern: "Until age 2, children are very much indulged; from age 2-6, they are trained through threats and ridicule; after age 6, corporal punishment is frequently used. At all ages, curiousity is stifled and innovation actively discouraged."
Rites of passage among the Kpelle involve the initiation of boys en masse into the secret society called Poro (sometime between the age of 7-20). Scarification on the back, stomach, or chest is a common ritual during this time in their lives. For females, an inititiation into the women's Sande society may happen at the same stage of life. "Clitoridectomy and Labiadectomy are central features of female initiation. For both sexes, initiation in carried out by masked figures."
(source)
Gio: The Gio, like many other Liberian groups, are mostly farmers. They farm staple crops such as rice, cassava, and sweet potatoes. Also, like other groups, they have a religious system that extends authority to the oldest males or to the most agressive. Boys are initiated into secret societies and then kept in line by others in the group. (source)
Other Religious People Groups
U. S. State Department statistics cite that an additional forty percent of Liberians practice traditional Christianity or a syncretistic mix of Christianity and traditional indigenous religions. Christian groups represented in Liberia include Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterians, Roman Catholic, United Methodist, African-Methodist-Episcopal, and A.M.E. Zion denominations (as well as several independent pentecostal groups).
Our State Department lists the primary missionary groups as Baptist, Catholics, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Since the setting for this International Missions Practicum is in a Baptist context, I familiarized myself with the letters and memoirs of Pastor Richard Kla Wesley (President of the National Pastors' Fellowship Conference) and the filmed testimonies of two other religious leaders: Dr. Lincoln Brownell (President of the Liberian Baptist Theological Seminary) and Pastor Shadrach Saynon (Founder of Liberian Ministries Children's Village). Other Christian ministries in close proximity to Pastor Wesley's church include Christian Aid (Mennonite) and the Lutheran World Federation (led locally by Betty Crandall for nearly 30 years).
The third primary belief system cited by the U. S. State Department is Islam. This 20 percent segment of the population prevails among members of the Mandingo group. The Mandingo are concentrated in the northern and eastern counties. Another tribe who have embraced Islam are the Vai (in the northwest). Therefore, at the onset of my research I have purposed to learn about these two tribes, their culture, and their connection to Islam.
State Department briefings include societal attitudes which they have concluded exist between the major religious communities. Although the law prohibits religious discrimination, certain Islamic leaders have complained of societal discrimination against Muslims: "The private sector in urban areas, particularly in the capital, gives preference to Christianity in civic ceremonies and observances, and discrimination against followers of other organized religions reaches into areas of individual opportunity and employment."
On the internet are published records of an Inter-faith council comprised of religious leaders representing Christian and Islamic groups. Mr. Muhammed Arum Bajwah the Ameer (and Missionary in-Charge) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Liberia asserts that their religion is "a peaceful one that does not engage in any acts contrary to the teaching of God."
At the first of the year (during the 5th Jalsa Salana), he encouraged his listeners to peacefully co-exist with others within the country irrespective of ethnic and religious backgrounds. A published account of his speech quotes the Ameer as directing his colleagues to "forgive others as you would like others to forgive you." (allafrica.com January 5, 2006 see below)
Just prior to my departure for Liberia, Libyan Leader Col. Mummar Al Qaddafi announced a new African Strategy Project for 2006. "The new project styled "The Qaddafi Project" will target Liberians, African youths, children and women." It has been reported that Col. Qaddafi had once mentored Liberia's notorious former President Charles Taylor in guerilla warfare.
Sources:
Ellis, Stephen. The Mask of Anarchy.
New York: New York University Press, 1991.
I read The Mask of Anarchy during my stay in Liberia.
Comments are entered in my spiral-bound daily journal.
Click here to take a look inside the book.
for connection between Qaddafi and Taylor
Qaddafi's Strategic Project Targets Liberia, Others
The NEWS (Monrovia)
Jimmey C. Fahngon posted to the web: January 9, 2006
still online as of April 11, 2006 click here
about the Grebo
about the Kru: (source) TribalArtForum.org
accessed online: January 6, 2006
Oprah Winfrey and the Kpelle: PBS: African American Lives
broadcast: February, 2006
about the Gio: (source) www.gateway-africa.com/tribe/Gio_tribe.html
accessed online: January 6, 2006
Islam: allafrica.com/stories/printable/200601050462.html (subscription required)
www.LiberianMinistries.com
a free DVD is available from this site. This contains the best historical footage we have seen to date.
*************
Addendum: Transcript of replies by Pastor Richard Kla Wesley
on my questions about Traditional Religion in Liberia
Pastor Wesley: "The traditional religion is a religion that takes to the worship of idols. To be specific-- they worship the rivers, the mountains, the devils which is representative of human agents. They worship certain ancestors. They worship fishes in the rivers. They worship evil spirits. They worship their leaders--town chiefs and people who are called zoes or witch doctors. The traditional religion is in a way harmful and dangerous.
No, it has nothing to do with Christianity as we see Christianity, but in certain circles, people tend to blend traditional religion with their so called "Christianity". But the powers to be in that "Christianity" is not God the Almighty, but the African voodoos and worship of animism is what they uphold as a way of life. So Christianity as we know it is far fetched from traditional religion because [real Christianity] is a Christianity that has mutual fellowship with God and strive to live a holy and perfect life honoring and glorifying God.
Another thing that is worth noting is that true Christianity exists even where the worship of animism is prevalent. Traditional religion makes a lot of show by putting up devil dances even in the cities and the master of traditional religion is the god of this world, Satan the Devil.
In Liberia they have a hast representation of other religions groups that are classified as cults. These religious groups are the same as they are found elsewhere: Church of the LDS, the Unification Church, Jehovah Witnesses, and the likes. As these religious groups do not believe or accept the deity of Christ, they are marked by extensive works as a provision for entrance into heaven.
Another religious group that is at the moment sweeping across the continent of Africa, Europe and other lands forming malicious groups under the pretext of fighting against injustices by way of taking lives and this religion is the Islamic religion which is also gaining massive roots in Liberia.
Christianity in Liberia may become dim if a strong evangelistic movement among Christendom is not prioritized because as it stands, Christianity is like a sandwich in the middle of cults that continue to threaten the soundness and wellness of true Christianity. We who are called to ministry must kneel down and pray and depend on God's sovereign power to lead, to deliver, and to plant or establish our feet on a firm foundation of the proclamation of the gospel. That is why God is working through and in ministries to join us in the relationship.
The reason why we think these traditional religions and cults are not a threat is because they are working under the cover of darkness and they are creeping unaware to take over Liberia and Africa as a whole. We must wake up with strong convictions and determination to proclaim God's great truth-- the gospel of Jesus Christ."
posted by pastorob at 12:03 PM
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