Lanterns, Loyalty, Ideology and Pride

Lanterns depicted a variety of objects and themes ranging from ships, other forms of transport, mosques and buildings of importance, to re-enactments (through the use of puppetry) of stories, scenes and events both past and present, secular and religious.

The lantern tradition first emerged in the Fourah Bay and Foulah Town communities in the eastern part of Freetown where Muslims of Yoruba descent lived. It quickly spread to other areas including  King Tom on the western side of the city where the British once had a naval base.

In the 1960s lantern clubs emerged in areas neighbouring on King Tom. They also built ship lanterns such as this oil tanker paraded in 1990 by Congo Town Lantern Club.

The port area of Clinetown is another neighbourhood where lanterns were built for many years. In both 1993 and 1997 Clinetonians Lantern Club built lanterns in the form of full-size double-decker buses (which older residents could remember once plying the streets of the city).

Bombay Stars Lantern Club is an example of a much younger lantern club which was located in Upper Bombay Street in eastern Freetown. It started participating in lantern parades in 1985.

Members of a club called Original Bronx were keen to identify themselves with the American Bronx. They placed great emphasis on physical fitness and as Bronx Lantern Club built a lantern in 1990 modelled on the famous Tyson v Douglas boxing match that year.

Many clubs were not fortunate enough to receive commercial sponsorship and regularly complained of a lack of funds. Nevertheless, even in the face of hardship members saw the lantern parade as an opportunity to promote the local neighbourhood, boost morale and demonstrate their sense of self-worth.