The Everyday
Struggle
Many people left their hometowns in order to seek shelter from the horrors of war and of these, many remained in Freetown, hoping to find a better future in the city after the end of the war. High unemployment rates – throughout the country and especially in the overpopulated capital Freetown – sometimes leave people with no other choice but to hang around spots highly frequented by foreigners and other wealthy people in order to get some money for watching
or washing parked cars or just by begging. Sadly enough, even young children that are passing by will reach out to strangers for food or money.
Window (2014)
by A. Leslie Lumeh
With no access to water, sanitation, or electricity throughout much of the country, people struggle just to survive. Individuals have become desensitized to death and most do not have the luxury of dedicating time to the remembrance of the past. The school curriculum does not even teach the root causes and facts behind the decade-long war, which have caused many of Sierra Leone’s current problems.
My Four Pregnant Wives (2014)
by Abdallah Kamara
It feels as if a veil of silence has been drawn over the previous events. Only small elements, such as the Okada riders – unemployed young men, who are mainly ex-combatants and now make a living by conveying passengers on cheap UN-supplied motorcycles – recall Sierra Leone’s bloody past.
Scarcity of Rice (2014)
by Abu Fofana
Around the capital, Freetown, the architecture of the houses is somewhat unique. Often wood and clapboard in structure, they are noticeably influenced by Krio and colonial English styles. Also in Freetown, large buildings have become a source of national pride, especially the government State House and the national football stadium, which is a central gathering place for many large events.
Poro and Sandi Societies (2014)
by Duke Richard Kwan-Boh Appleton
Outside of Freetown, the “traditional” house in Sierra Leone is a clay and earth structure, built with a thatched roof. Construction can either be “wattle and daub” (wattle is the frame of a group of poles secured by the intertwining of twigs and vines; this frame is then “daubed” or plastered with soft earth to cover it), or clay and earth blocks, which are dried and hardened in the sun.
The Faces of Liberian (2014) by Frank Dwuye
These construction techniques have the advantage of allowing the house to stay relatively cool inside during the season of hot and dry months. Modern materials are now often incorporated into building techniques, especially zinc sheets for roofs and cement to cover floors and walls. While making the interior of the house considerably less cool during the heat, these materials do allow for more permanent structures, needing less maintenance. Houses are either round or rectangular, and typically offer a veranda, a central parlor, and two or three interior rooms. These may function as bedrooms or food storage areas, or both.
Market Day (2014) by Karamo Sanoe
National identity has been influenced by several factors. Besides the common experiences shared under colonialism or since independence, one of the most important factors has been the development of the regional lingua franca Krio, a language that unites all the different ethnic groups, especially in their trade and interaction with each other. Another has been the near universal membership, across ethnic lines, in men’s and women’s social organizations, especially Poro among the men, and Bundu or Sande, among the women.
Village Life (2014)
by M. Henry Kegbeh
The pattern of societies across the Temne-speaking area is particularly complex. The western end of the area was traversed by a major coastal-interior trading corridor during the Atlantic trade era and became deeply Islamic. Since strict adherence to Islam tends to preclude secret society membership, the traditional men’s societies administering rites of passage into adulthood have long disappeared from this area.
Market Day (2014)
by Mark Henry
However, Sande/Bondo is still used here and many (mostly male) inhabitants of the area now belong to the Odelay (Hunting) and Ojeh societies. Liberated slaves of Nigerian (Yoruba) origin who settled in the original Sierra Leone Colony in the nineteenth century brought these two societies to Sierra Leone.
Business Couples (2014)
by Samuel Hwisedeh
The Drumer (2014)
by Maxwell Kamga
The Temne also have specialized societies for investing kings and chiefs with sacred powers. In the western half of the Temne-speaking area, rulers are installed with Islamic ceremonies; in the East these functions are performed by an ancient society called Ragbenle. In some eastern localities, however, Ragbenle has been superseded by another society called Ramena, or by Poro.
Good Time (2014)
by Michael Mitchell
The Odelay and Ojeh societies have spread to urban, mining and river/sea port areas throughout Sierra Leone and can count members from all of the major ethnic groups. In these areas, as in the Sucromu case described by Bellman, the clustering of people with different religious and cultural backgrounds militates against the operation of traditional medicine laws.
Our Daily Meal (2014)
by Prince Abel Kollie
Unlike the traditional societies, Odelay and Ojeh admit adults on application and initiation does not involve any form of genital cutting. While operating in some areas as elite social clubs, versions of these societies were also developed by under- employed urban youths for their own entertainment and political expression.
Festive Drummer (2014)
by Samuel Hwisedeh
Assumption Cities (2014)
by Sam Borbor
While the Odelay society frequently stages public masquerades during national holidays, Ojehis are considered “deeper” and seek to inculcate in its members both moral discipline and powers to detect and punish criminals.
ABDULMALIK MABELLINI
AFRICAN ART CURATOR
