Where did the Mende people come from?
Mende, people of Sierra Leone, including also a small group in Liberia; they speak a language of the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo family. The Mende grow rice as their staple crop, as well as yams and cassava.
What is the Mende tribe known for?
The Mende are generally known as growers of rice and several other crops, practicing crop rotation to protect soil productivity. Coffee, cocoa, and ginger are grown as cash crops, whereas rice, pepper, groundnuts, beniseed (also known as sesame seeds), and palm oil are grown for local consumption.
How did the Mende came into Sierra Leone?
The Mende, who are believed to be descendants of the Mane, were originally in the Liberian hinterland. They began moving into Sierra Leone slowly and peacefully in the eighteenth century. The Temne claim to have come from Futa Jallon, which is in present-day Guinea.
What is the Mende culture?
The Mende culture consists of two main societies- the Poro and the Sande. The primary role of both societies are the same in that they intend to teach people the expectations of the community, but they are distinguishable from each other by group members’ gender. The Poro is for men and the Sande is for women.
How many types of Mende do we have in Sierra Leone?
Three groups
Three groups of Mende are commonly distinguished corresponding to different Mende dialects: the Kpa Mende, west of the Jong or Teye river; the Sewa Mende, between the Jong and the Waanje rivers; and the Ko Mende, east of the Waanje. (There are certain cultural differences between them.
How many types of Mende are there?
Three groups of Mende are commonly distinguished corresponding to different Mende dialects: the Kpa Mende, west of the Jong or Teye river; the Sewa Mende, between the Jong and the Waanje rivers; and the Ko Mende, east of the Waanje. (There are certain cultural differences between them.
Which tribe is the most educated tribe in Sierra Leone?
The Krio have traditionally dominated Sierra Leone’s judiciary and Freetown’s elected city council. One of the first ethnic groups to become educated according to Western traditions, they have traditionally been appointed to positions in the civil service, beginning during the colonial years.
Is Mende a Bantu?
These languages fall into two separate groups. The first is the Mande language group, which resembles Mandinka in structure, and includes Mende, Susu, Yalunka, Koranko, Kono, and Vai. The second group is the semi bantu group, which includes Temne, Limba, Bullom (or Sherbro), and Krim.
What language is Mende?
Mende is a major language of Sierra Leone, with some speakers in neighboring Liberia. It is spoken by the Mende people and by other ethnic groups as a regional lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone. Mende is a tonal language belonging to the Mande branch of the Niger–Congo language family.
Where is Mende spoken in the world?
Sierra Leone
Mende /ˈmɛndi/ (Mɛnde yia) is a major language of Sierra Leone, with some speakers in neighboring Liberia. It is spoken by the Mende people and by other ethnic groups as a regional lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone. In southern Sierra Leone, it is the regional lingua franca that allows all tribes to communicate.
What happened to the Mende in Sierra Leone?
Mende fighters participated in the wars and revolts of the colonial period, which ended in 1961 with the independence of Sierra Leone. The civil war in Liberia in early 1990 brought many Liberian Mende into Sierra Leone as refugees, and many of their settlements were in Mende territory.
What is Mende language in Sierra Leone?
Mende language is also taught in Sierra Leone schools and the alphabet is closely related to the English alphabet. For example, the letter ‘C’ is flipped facing left and pronounced ‘orh’; ‘E’ is written with broken edges and pronounced ‘eh’.
What happened to the ancestors of the Mende?
Ancestors continue to live as spirits and their earthly relatives keep their memory alive in rituals. The Mende are a well-documented example of a non-western, pre-industrial society in which, at least historically, women were not politically subordinate to men. In the pre-colonial era, the Mende had female chiefs and war leaders.
Who were the leaders of Sierra Leone during the Civil War?
Solomon Musa, vice chairman of the NPRC, a military government that ruled Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996. Samuel Hinga Norman, founder and leader of the Civil Defence Forces, indicted for war crimes. Joe Robert Pemagbi, current Sierra Leone ambassador to the United Nations.