How the Bassa Got Their Name

There are several histories out there concerning the Bassa people of Liberia.  Some claim they descend from the Abyssinian people and from this their name was derived (i.e. “A-bassa-nia”) others claim differently.  Dr. Syrulwah Soma has written a book on the history of the Bassa (Nyanyan Gohn Manan: History, Migration and Government of the Bassa) in which he proposes that there were actually Bassa on the throne of Egypt as Pharaohs and that at one point in their history the Bassa traded with Hano of Carthage and led armies in conquest of ancient India.  One thing is certain and that is that there is a common oral tradition among the Bassa as to how they got their name.    

Today I will share this theory with you on how they got their name “Bassa.” I received this first from Dr. Abba Karnga, a man who has done much to try and preserve the ancient tales, proverbs and customs of the Bassa people.  The following tale is a common oral tradition among the Bassa concerning how they came to be called “Bassa”.

Dr. Abba Karnga and Heath Vogel in Buchanan, Liberia in 2011

The areas of modern day Liberia in which the Bassa are concentrated (roughly Grand Bassa and parts of Margibi & River Cess Counties) was at one time called the “Gboo” territory.  They were named after Chief Gboo, who was an ancient and mighty chief of the people that would later be called Bassa.   These people who were ruled by Gboo were called “Gboo Nyohn Bey” which simply means “Gboo’s people.”  The name of this ancient tribe changed from Gboo Nyohn Bey to Bassa during the arrival of the Europeans.  Here is how that happened…

An Old Map of Liberia showing "BASSA COVE" near Pennsylvania Colony which was settled by Black Quakers from Pennsylvania during the ACS/Back to Africa Movement

When the Europeans arrived on the Liberian coast to trade in iron, pepper and slaves they met with the Gboo Nyohn Bey  on the coast (possibly around modern day Buchanan which was first called Basa Cove by the Europeans).  At that time the chief in that area was a man who called himself Mr. Rock (or Father Stone as some say).  Now the Bassa word for ‘rock or stone’ is ‘Saw’ and the Bassa word for ‘master or father’ is ‘Bah’ and so Chief “Bah Saw” became the man with whom the Europeans did their business.  Mr. Rock’s servants who interacted with the Europeans called themselves the “Bah Saw Nyohn Bey” or “Mr. Rock’s People”.  Chief BahSaw and the “Bah Saw Nyon Bey” therefore became a representative of the Gboo Nyohn Bey to the European traders.  As it was difficult for the Europeans to call them “Bah Saw Nyohn Bey” they shortened it to “Bah Saw” or simply “Basa” as some of the old European maps show.  And so that is how the name Bassa was placed upon Chief Gboo’s people.  

Get Some Bassa Rhythm!

Bassa Dialect Choir Drummers
The bigger drum keeps time and the smaller drum improvises

One of my "touristy" goat skin Liberian drums

Here is a basic Bassa rhythm that I was taught as a kid in Liberia.  It is from a Bassa song that has something to do with a man that had gold in his pockets, so a happy song!  I used a touristy goat skin drum I picked up along the street in Monrovia as I could not find the actual Bassa drums for sale.  Supposedly the traditional deer skins are hard to find as people chop bush meat into smaller pieces with disregard to the skin and the deer are becoming more difficult to find.  

Bassa drummer bringing the beats to a congregation heading down to the river for a baptism

This first video then is the basic beat that would be played on the bigger square drum and the second video is of the rhythm that is played on the smaller drum.  These rhythms are slowed way down and also in reality there would be two drummers each playing one of the drums at the same time, but hopefully this gives you the idea!

Of course if you'd rather not learn to play and just listen check out a couple of these Bassa Dialect Choir recordings I made in the summer of 2011.  The lighting is bad in the night one and the sound can be rough at times, but you can hear loud and clear those drums beating out some fine Bassa rhythm!  Enjoy-o!

This guy can rock out!....

I dream of someday drumming like these guys....

How To Count To Ten In Bassa

Bassa is one of the 16 or so languages spoken inLiberia and one I have been exposed to since age 3.  One of the first things you would learn in Bassa is how to count.  Counting in Bassa usually includes not just the mouth but also the hands!  Watch the video and then I’ll explain the hand movements which can be used as a kind of sign language.

When you are counting, you start with ɖò (one) by pointing to your pinky on your left hand with your right index finger.  When you get to sɔ̃́ (two) you point to the your left ring finger with your right index and bring the left ring finger together with your pinky.  You continue until you have all five of your digits on your left hand together at hm̀m̌ (five).  You then continue this pattern onto your right hand pinky and finally end with ɓaɖa-bùè (ten) by placing both hands together in what looks like two hands praying.  By using these hand signals you can indicate a number to someone without even speaking (i.e. by raising and pressing together the pinky, ring & middle fingers of your left hand you will indicate the number ‘3’ to someone).

I’ve listed the Bassa numbers below from 1 – 10.  You’ll notice that there is some repetition after the number 5 as the number 6 is the word “mɛ̀nɛ̌ìn” + the word for “one” (ɖò) and 7 is “mɛ̀nɛ̌ìn” + the word for “two” (sɔ̃́), etc.  If you learn to count past 10 you’ll notice this sort of pattern repeating.  This system of counting is based on the digits of your hand, our God-given calculator! 


One to Ten in Bassa (with rough guide to pronunciation) :

ɖò (dough) - one

sɔ̃́ (sawe)- two

tã (tah) - three

hĩinyɛ (he nyay) - four

hm̀m̌ (hmm) - five

mɛ̀nɛ̌ìn-ɖò (muhnain dough) - six

mɛ̀nɛ̌ìn-sɔ̃́ (muhnain sawe) - seven

mɛ̀nɛ̌ìn-tã (muhnain tah)- eight

mɛ̀nɛ̌ìn-hĩinyɛ (muhnain he nyay)- nine

ɓaɖa-bùè (blah bway) - ten

For some more Bassa words check out this online Bassa dictionary by my friends at CEFL.

The Day I Entered a Poro "Devil Bush"

I've written a little about the so-called "Devil Bush" in several articles here.  It is a kind of sacred grove hidden in the bush where secret societies like the Poro and Sande meet for their secret rituals.  It is a place where non-initiates are threatened with death if they trespass; a place I unknowingly entered into when I was 13.  Here is the story of how all of that went down ...

BACKSTORY

We arrived in Liberia in 1976 at the request of some Bassa leaders that were looking for teachers from the US for their school.  My dad then taught in Buchanan, the county seat of Grand Bassa County, and it was through this that he became connected with an individual that made another request of my dad:  he wanted him to come speak in his village.  This individual was a Liberian who had become a Christian and he wanted my dad, who is also a pastor, to come and speak in his village about Christianity.  My dad agreed and made the trek.

According to old newsletters that my parents had written around that time the name of this village was "Doowin".  (This was at least how it sounded to my dad when he heard the name.)  It was quite a hike back into the deep bush and upon arrival the entire village came out to meet the group that had journeyed together with my dad.  Everyone spoke in Bassa and dad was able to get pieces of information from the welcome ceremony from translators.  Entering this village must have been like entering another world for my dad.  Here's what he pieced together from that...

WELCOMING CEREMONY

The visitors to the village were joined together with the villagers in a big circle under the open air in the middle of the village.  The Chief of Doowin (sp?) walked into the circle and greeted the visitors in the presence of everyone there.  To the best of my dad's recollection, in his hands was a plate that had an egg on it and also a small pile of salt and a small pile of dirt.  These obviously symbolized something and dad remembers getting a brief explanation, but does not remember exactly what that explanation was.  It seems that it had something to do with being invited into the community.

Chief of Doowin presenting the visiting group with an egg,
dirt & salt in a bowl
 - photo by Ken Vogel

THE STRANGE WHITE MAN

Dad remembers how the village was curious about seeing a white man.  Everyone kept stealing glances at him to see if he was for true.  They listened with interest to his presentation of some basic Christian concepts through a Bassa translator.  They watched him as entered the guest hut.  They watched him again with fascination as he brushed his teeth.  They watched as he performed this strange ritual of spitting and rinsing into a cup and then "wasting" his spit water on a nearby rock.  He looked and behaved so very strange and must have been quite the talk of the town.

DOOWIN REVISITED

I was not old enough to make this initial hike with my dad.  However about 9 years later, when he was asked again to return, I got to go with him.  I remember sitting in a small, mud and stick church that first evening there after our long hike.  I remember that everything was spoken in Bassa except when my dad was asked to speak.  Then I recall that everyone got quiet as an old man got up to speak in Bassa.  Here is the basic translation of what he said....

THE DEVIL BUSH

He recounted how he remembered when my dad came to visit their village several years before.  He remembered how he had talked about this strange, new god who had power over death.  He then remembered that this white man had taken his spit and thrown it on their sacred rock in front of everyone.  (Apparently the rock dad had thrown his toothpaste water on was their village god!)  He remembers waiting to see what would happen to this man who had challenged their god in front of the entire village.  Surely their god would strike this man dead!  When the white man lived the village met and decided that this white man's god must have more power than their god and placed their faith in this new god.  After the white man had left and with a new found courage in this new god they went into the Devil Bush and cut it down and in its place they had built this church where we now worship this new god, Jesus.  In fact, the very place where I was sitting that evening had been the gathering spot for Poro.  In the community's new spirit of openness instead of secretiveness I had been invited to enter into their very own most sacred space.  I had entered into the Devil Bush and lived to tell about it!

The village of Doowin gathered around to welcome the new visitors (Aug 1977)
photo by Ken Vogel

Alright, so perhaps this wasn't what you were expecting?  Perhaps you were wanting me to share some kind of deep, dark secret that I had witnessed in a Neegee ceremony (a missionary actually did join the Neegee once by the way but that is another story) or some amazing tale about how I had barely survived attempts on my life for trespassing on Poro sacred ground.  In fact, depending on your personal views on Poro and Sande this whole tale is either a terrible tragedy to Liberian culture or it is an amazing testimony to the power of God to use people who have no idea what they are doing.  

I will end by saying that from my perspective it was far better to have been in the sacred grove at peace with my Liberian brothers and sisters than it would have been if I had been in that same grove 10 years earlier.  Had it happened then my life would have surely been threatened just for simply being there.  That they shared their sacred space with me instead of threatening me to stay away speaks of true love and hospitality.   From my point of view the fact that I was invited into fellowship with Liberians as they worshiped was far better than being excluded because I wasn't born in the "correct" culture.  

You may ask, "But didn't you just feel more comfortable with them because they now worshiped the white man's God?"  To which I would reply, "We are all children of God and last I checked Jesus was actually Middle Eastern, not white."  The teaching of the Bible is that the Blessing is available to all nations, races and ethnic groups through Abraham's Seed.  Anyone can know the peace that transforms us from excluding others from our sacred space to opening wide the doors to our fellow human beings (whether that exclusion be a Poro society or an all white, suburban church in the US).  Shalom.  

Recommended Reading - Chasing The Devil

Here I am imaging a Guinea worm inside my body.

There are a lot of great books out there on Liberia.  Each has its own strengths and/or weaknesses.  I would recommend a few of them based on their scholarship on various Liberian topics or their outstanding visual documentation.  However, far beyond any other book on Liberia that I might recommend to you is Tim Butcher's "Chasing the Devil." This is the ONE book I would recommend across the board to any newbie interested in Liberia.  I think it is the perfect pre-trip read for those interested in traveling to Liberia as it introduces so much of the culture and history in a very accessible, down-to-earth style.  Perhaps you have heard about Tim Butcher and his harrowing journey in Blood River.  If so you might imagine him to be some sort of crazy adrenaline junkie or thrill seeker who goes over the top with stories about crossing rivers full of crocodiles.   Instead you will find here an author as vulnerable and frail as the rest of humanity struggling to come to terms with Liberia.  He does actually get scared.  He does get tired and blistered.  He does actually chafe!  In the process of reading you will find Mr. Butcher to be easy to relate to and a very competent and personable guide into what can sometimes feel like entering the very Heart of Darkness itself.

Wondering exactly what a Bull-Roarer might sound like,
then kind of freaking out a bit

If you have read Graham Greene's "Journey Without Maps" then this book is not a recommendation for you, rather it is a must.  In fact, you have not yet truly read Greene's book until you have read this book by Tim Butcher.  He lets us in on so much back story to Greene's journey to Liberia that no one will ever read "Journey Without Maps" the same way again.

Epiphany!  Graham Greene's bow tie
was really a camera!

Why would this be?  The subtitle to this marvelous book gives the answer: "A Journey Through Sub-Saharan Africa in the  Footsteps of Graham Greene."  For those unfamiliar with Graham Greene's 'footsteps' it was a 1935 trip starting in Freetown, Sierra Leone that ended in Monrovia, Liberia by a rather circuitous route (through the so-called Liberian "hinterland").  As Butcher points out, Greene's trip was partly sponsored by powers within the UK government to see if the claims were true that Liberian natives were being enslaved by Americo-Liberians.  (Later, it appears that Greene actually worked as a spy for the British Government in West Africa).  If a discovery of modern day slavery had been made by Greene it would have given Liberia's neighboring colonial powers (stationed in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast & Guinea) reason to deny the Republic of Liberia's international standing.  This could have even possibly led to interested superpowers (read France and England) taking over Liberia's lands in a maneuver to help 'protect' Liberians.  The Fernando Po incident of that era helped add fuel to this strategy, but that is all for another story.

Dreaming of rat infested huts and secret Poro waterfalls
after a hard day of reading

Back to the book.  Time and time again I found Mr. Butcher able to clearly relate the most important insights and facts that would benefit any Westerner visiting Liberia.  Every major topic or point or event that I have brought up to those interested in traveling to Liberia was brought up in this book and it was done so in a very easy to read and entertaining manner.  By entertaining, I don't mean warm fuzzy feelings of happiness like when a child takes her first steps, but rather entertaining in the cathartic sense; in like you just survived a white water rapids ride over a waterfall and are happy to still be alive!  The stories are often gory (but not gratuitous) and deal with such topics as murder, witchcraft, disease, child soldiers and rape, but alas! ...Can there be an accurate telling of Liberia's story without these topics being included?  I'm afraid not.

Learning that I called my 'machete' a 'cutlass' 
as a small boy because Liberian English was 
influenced by "Pirate"  --- arrrgh, Matey!

I could go on and on but I'm sure you would best be served by reading it for yourself.  I will make three observations though before we end.  First, I was grateful for Mr. Butcher's treatment of the Bassa people.  Mr. Greene had no kind words to say for what he considered a lazy 'Basa' race.  He considered them corrupted by civilization and that by having learned the white man's ways they were unworthy of trust and were basically unreliable.  ~ (I suppose by that he meant unreliable for carrying his luggage) ~ While I will not vouch for the entire Bassa tribe (nor the entire white man population!) I have not found most Bassa to be lazy nor unreliable and I appreciate Mr Butcher sharing the moment when he nears Buchanan (my hometown!) and a woman stops and prays for him in Bassa.  That is the sort of generous and spiritually attuned Bassa person I knew growing up and while Mr. Butcher may have only been reporting it to round out his tale I'm glad he decided to include this story in the book.  ~Peace to my Bassa people reading!~

Looking at pictures of Tim Butcher
with his feet in buckets full of water

Secondly, I wanted to comment on the missionary David Waines that he meets in this book.  I've been intrigued by him over the past couple of years and was fascinated to learn that Mr. Butcher actually meets him in this journey.  He seems to like Mr. Waines also as the title of the book is based on his words, and here I quote, "...we are going to chase the devil back to hell through prayer."  Here Mr. Waines is referring to the Poro devil, and specifically the ritualistic murders done in the name of Poro.  It is hard to communicate with someone who has never lived there, but Poro is an unbelievably difficult thing to stand against while trying to live in that part of the world, but this is the sort of guy you will meet in this book.  He appears here as a very interesting chap, a Club Beer drinking Canadian missionary that stayed in Liberia DURING the Civil War!  That's right, during the Liberian Civil War he went back into Liberia!  Wow.  This guy has got to have to some tales to tell.  In fact, here is one...



He supposedly even confronted Charles Taylor, which you can watch in another video at the above site < == I wonder to myself, is that story for true?  It is almost too much, but if so... Wow!  btw- You will find several other hair raising tales by Waines in Mr. Butcher's book as well.  

The first time I heard of Waines was after watching Anthony Bourdain's trip to Liberia on the Travel channel (in which Mr. Butcher also makes an appearance).  I had gotten online and was looking for more information about Bourdain's trip and came across the following interview that had been edited from the airing program (Tony "s-word" alert kiddos)...




Perhaps Tony should have let David talk a bit more here at the end as I'm sure David had more interesting things to say, but hey it is Tony's show.  Whatever the case I became interested in this fellow at that time and began reading a bit about him.  I had lost track of him until I read this book just recently and then there he was again!  I began to have a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Butcher might have been one of the main consultants for Bourdain's trip to Liberia.  If you watched that episode after reading this book you'd see why I say that.  I wish Netflix would bring back Season 6 of "No Reservations" so I could direct you there and also so I could watch that whole thing again myself, but it is no longer there.   The Liberia episode is covered in episode 16 if you do get the chance to view it or buy it.  All that being said, Bourdain himself offers the following glowing recommendation of "Chasing the Devil" when he states on the dust jacket:  

Concurring with the Archbishop's 
recommendation:
- "Africa has a worthy chronicler."

"Amazing. As history, as anthropology, as a ripping yarn.  Both exploration of an epic journey - and a hard yet sympathetic look at a Utopia-gone wrong."  Yep.  I agree, and by the way, Archbishop Desmond Tutu also recommends this book on the dust jacket!

Taking a break from reading in order to 
hold one of Louisiana's many fine 
contributions to society

Lastly, having lived in Louisiana I 'chafed' when Mr. Butcher mentioned Boudreaux's Butt Paste because (in my opinion) the context made it look like it came from Canada.   Now perhaps that particular tube was brought from there, but everyone who has lived in St. Tammany Parish knows that Boudreaux's Butt Paste is Louisiana home grown!  (Just don't ask how its grown --- jj).  Now they make it in Indiana but I just felt like I had to represent all my crazy Who Dats and their Butt Paste otherwise I'd have no place to stay when I come to down to catch cabbages from tractor pulled floats on parade.  So for now I will just heartily agree with Butcher's assessment that this stuff is amazing and it should be included in the Liberian traveler's knapsack.  (My wife says it smells good too!)  This is just one of the many helpful bits of information about Liberia that you will glean from reading this book --- there is much, much more here, but enough already, just read it!

Liberia reading bliss!

The Spotted Man of Zondo and His Ancient Horn

Before entering Zondo I was told about the Dor-kpa (Bassa for 'lappa' or 'towel').  I wasn't told why the horn was given the peculiar name of 'lappa', but I was told that the Dor-kpa is an ancient elephant tusk horn that was captured by this village in battle more than 200 years ago.  “It was before the Independence of Liberia”, my host Floyd Morgan said.  That happened in 1847.  Heaven knows how old the horn was when it was captured.  “The Dor-kpa is very special to this village," I was told.  Supposedly many Bassa and surrounding peoples are aware of this village and know it as the place that holds the Dor-kpa, the ancient elephant tusk horn won in battle.

Floyd Morgan holding the ancient 'Dor-kpa' an elephant tusk horn.

President Sirleaf Johnson visits Zondo on April 23, 2011
(photo by Floyd Morgan)

The other thing Floyd told me about the Dor-kpa was that it was “beat” (or blown) whenever a major event happened in their community.  For example whenever a chief died or a new one was announced or as had just happened a few months before, when the President of Liberia Ellen Sirleaf Johnson visited Zondo.  In all of Liberia’s history she was the first president to ever visit this rather remote part of Liberia.  

The Next In Line to become the
'Beater of the Lappa'

I was also told that the Dor-kpa was only blown by a certain lineage of specially trained individuals and there was only one man in the community allowed to blow it.  He was currently training his son to follow in his footsteps after him as the 'Beater of the Lappa,' the only one who is allowed to blow the Dor-kpa (i.e., 'Lappa').  The last thing he told me about the horn before I arrived was that they planned on “beating the Lappa” upon our arrival to the village.  I was humbled and deeply honored.

Sure enough when we arrived we were welcomed with over 15 minutes of ancient Bassa songs accompanied by the Dor-kpa.  I have still to get these three songs translated, but the Bassa people with me told me that one of the songs was sung in ancient days for a great warrior or chief when he entered the village.  Another song was sung to us as if we were hunters returning to the village with an elephant.  It was a song of rejoicing as an elephant could feed everyone in the village for months.  The last song had something to do with the community and having each other’s back.  We were getting a royal welcome!  

As you can see from the video above the men’s bodies are painted with white spots.  This is the traditional war paint of the Bassa people and represents leopard spots.  The fact that these are warriors greeting us somehow symbolizes respect to us.  We were greatly honored and blessed to meet the wonderful people of Zondo.

The Spotted Man with The Ancient Horn Himself!

Remember Me When You Eat

Wooden bowl and two spoons from Zondo, Liberia

"What if you gave your friends a bowl and spoon to take home with them whenever they left your house?" 

This question was asked to a curious group of children last week during a presentation on Liberia. They laughed and giggled. They were curious about the bowl and two spoons I had received from the people of Zondo in Liberia.

"Why would you do that? Why would you give someone a bowl and spoon when you say 'goodbye'?" That was their question. It is a good question. They had good answers:

"Maybe your friends will get hungry on the way home."

"They may not have bowls and spoons so you want them to have some to eat with."

"So they can remember eating with you."

The presentation of the bowl and spoons in Zondo. 2011

Symbols have this ability to make us rethink common things like eating food and they provide us with new and powerful perspectives that can change how we view the world, ourselves, and others. For example, these symbols from Zondo caused me to ask things I wouldn't normally ask myself like, "How do I eat nice with others?", "What does it mean to hang out with friends?", "Is it OK to share a spoon with someone even though my mom said I shouldn't?", and even "How do I say goodbye?"

"Bowl and Spoon" Means What?

To us a bowl and spoon are usually just tools. They aid us in ingesting our Count Chocula or clam chowder. They can be styrofoam or plastic and thrown away. However, upon further investigation we find that we also practice a symbolism of bowl giving in our culture. For example, bowls of china or crystal are often given as gifts at weddings. Why? Because we hope in some small way that the newlyweds will remember us when they use them or look at them. We hope that as they set the table for Thanksgiving perhaps they will remember us and even mention us in a brief prayer like: "God, I hope those guys are doing alright. What nice people."

Perhaps something similar was meant with this Liberia goodbye-gift of Bowl and Spoon. Perhaps it would be best though to hear why they did this in their own words. Fortunately, we videotaped the Bowl and Spoon ceremony at Zondo and had translators who explained to us the meaning of the Bassa words. Here is what giving a Bowl and Spoon mean to the Bassa.

Explaining the meaning of the spoon

Bowl and Spoon in Bassa Tradition

A Bowl and Spoon Presentation

There were two sets of "Bowl and Spoon" handed out to us by the wonderful people of Zondo. Each presentation included a speech. First, the translation of the speech giving in the presentation of the bowl and spoon to my mom and dad:

"Our own Liberian way of telling people goodbye. This is a eating bowl. This is what our fathers used before people began using rubber bowls or manufactured bowls. In our culture we show that we are of one accord, that we have fellowship with one another when we eat together from the same bowl. Your visit to us shows us that you love us and so on your way back we are giving you this bowl. We want you and us to be one family eating from the same bowl.

The spoon also symbolizes something in our own culture. You have your family, your children. You feed your children to grow up to become man and woman tomorrow. As you dish out your food to your children, or to your family, or to your friends, we want you to remember us as you do so when you use this spoon."

My parents receiving their own bowl and spoon set from Zondo

Bowl and Spoon Bassa Speech #2

A second presentation was made from the people of Zondo. To help the following make more sense I was in Zondo by invitation of my childhood friend Floyd Morgan. With that in mind, the following is a translation by my friend Arthur Crusoe:

Arthur Crusoe handing off the bowl and spoons

"Significance of the bowl. We eat together so we will be closely united. Since you came here we are very happy. We don’t have words to express our feelings. Now you are going home. You will want to say, “I have been to Floyd’s home.” So you should have some artifact, some symbol to take with you from Floyd’s home. Our forefathers ate in something like this. Bowl and spoon made of these materials. We are happy. We are happy! Since you are going to your family and when you go and are seated, when you take this spoon and you eat with it, remember us from Floyd’s home. Praise God!"

Remember Me When You Eat

I was a bit confused and nervous when I was asked to respond to the community after receiving these amazing gifts. For one, I don't deserve this royal treatment, and for two, I wasn't quite sure what it meant. I mustered a few words in reply and realized it didn't matter how eloquent I was in response. The people were happy to clap and say 'amen' to just about anything that came from my mouth. They were simply happy I was there. I was happy to be there too and have remembered them often.

Stumbling through some words in a short response speech.

After two years of reflection I realize I have not yet plunged the depths of this Bowl and Spoon symbolism. Perhaps I never will. However, as a Christian this whole concept seems rather at home to my worldview. I mean, who else has said, 'goodbye' through the use of symbols relating to food? For me the words of Christ, 'eat this bread in remembrance of me' and 'drink this cup in remembrance of me', have taken on new meaning because of my Bassa friends. As also His promise that one day we will share in the same cup when He returns. And so remembering is a part of fellowship.  

Sharing bowl and spoons with Zondo brothers

The Power of African Theology

I say all of this to re-emphasize what I hope is being communicating through out all of this blog: we need to hear from Africa. In fact, the whole world suffers when African voices are silenced. Whether they be silenced through wars, disease, poverty, neo-colonial corporatization, or even aid organizations who aren't interested in listening; the fact of the matter is that their silence hurts us all. Their oppression oppresses us all. We all suffer when their voices do not inform us. We need more African theology informing our walk with God. 

Every tongue and tribe?

As Christians we know our holy text tells us that the body of Christ is diverse and made of every tongue and tribe and is therefore not defined by Western traditions, songs, or theological perspectives alone. In practice however we tend to want to use our current positions of power to usurp other traditions, stories, and perspectives. We silence them to our own poverty. 

Who is really oppressed?

In fact, I would say that the church in the States is experiencing a deep poverty of fellowship with Christ as a result of our blindness to other cultures even within our own borders. Like the proverbial Laodicean; we think we are rich, but we are poor. We think we see, but we are blind. We tend to think we know best for Africa and other 'third world' cultures. Yet it may very well be the voice of those that our culture has historically oppressed that can teach us how to finally break free from our own chains. 

I don't desire that we degrade our own perspectives, nor that we adopt everything African, but rather that we include the perspective of our African brethren like they have included us. They have invited us to share the same bowl with them. 

From the mouth of babes

Consider again the children who asked such good questions about the Liberian bowl and spoon. What did they see in these African symbols? I think they can teach us a few things about remembering Christ, considering one another, and true fellowship. Why would anyone do something so strange as give someone a bowl and spoon when they say goodbye? Listen again to the children (and the African wisdom behind it):

"Maybe your friends will get hungry on the way home."

"They may not have bowls and spoons so you want them to have some to eat with."

"So they can remember eating with you."

Fufu and Dumboy

Bowl of fufu with soup

Bassa woman pounding dumboy in mortar with pestle

Fufu (or foo foo, fu fu, fu-fu) is found all throughout Western Africa, while dumboy is more closely associated with areas around Liberia.  Both dumboy and fufu are served as a doughy ball that has been pounded and strained from a starchy food like rice, semolina or cassava.  The pounding is usually done in a large, wooden mortar and pestle and the straining with a cloth and a large bowl.  In Liberia fufu is usually made from dried and fermented cassava root; while dumboy is made from fresh cassava.  

Pounded cassava from the mortar

Boiling the pounded cassava

Ma Sarah is straining the pounded and boiled cassava

Both fufu and dumboy are usually served with a "soup" that is poured over these doughy balls of starch.  My theory is that chicken and dumplings are a recreation of this old country fufu that enslaved Africans made with found ingredients in the US.  Think one big dumpling in a bowl with the chicken soup poured over it and you have something rather similar to this African dish.     

Forming the pounded, boiled & strained cassava into doughy balls of fufu

In Liberia fufu and dumboy are not chewed, but rather swallowed in smaller balls that you pull off of the bigger dough ball.  It used to be considered rude to chew the dumboy or fufu, but it is often overlooked when us foreigners do it wrong.  However, if you get the chance to eat fufu or dumboy with a Liberian community see if you can just swallow a small ball of it whole like the Liberians do.  I found it to be an enjoyable way to enjoy this particular dish.  Also, people often use their finger to make a small indentation in the ball they pull off of the bigger dough ball and soup and put inside that indentation before you swallow it.  That seems to help it go down more smoothly!

Getting ready to swallow some dumboy served with goat liver and pepper soup.

Now which do I prefer; dumboy o fufu?  It seems like I should enjoy the dumboy more having been raised around the Bassa tribe (the Bassa in particular are associated with dumboy).  However, if I am only to be in Liberia a short time I will usually go with the fufu as I trust the fermentation process to help kill harmful bacteria that are foreign to my sensitive stomach.  I know of several Americans who have had problems after swallowing dumboy because they had not yet adjusted their innards to that which lives in dumboy.   That being said, if you're up to the challenge and/or have acclimated yourself to Liberia, you should try swallowing dumboy as well as fufu.  I swallowed both to no ill effect while in Liberia in 2011.

A Chop Shop sign in Monrovia advertising Fufu

Fufu covered with a meat loaded soup

To me the best part of the fufu or dumboy experience is the soup.  The actual fufu/dumboy has little taste in itself, but when combined with the right ingredients it is an overall culinary delight!  Here was my favorite Liberian meal when I visited in 2011:  fufu covered with pepper soup with fish and some ground bennie seed paste put on top of that.  Delicious!  It was also kind of fun to say as the bennie seed (sesame seed) paste was called dudu in Bassa and so I would ask for dudu for my fufu (say that a couple times; it's fun to say!)

There is also a very hard fufu called GB that is served more in Nimba county (I believe it is associated with the Mano and Gio peoples).  GB is traditionally served with what we would consider rotten meat in the soup and the hard blocks of GB are swallowed like large chunky pills.  I saw several chop shops with the letters G & B painted on them and assume that is what was served there.  I have not tried this yet and I'm a bit hesitant;  but who knows?  Maybe someday... and maybe someday you too will also be able to try and swallow some Liberian fufu or dumboy if you have not already.  It is an experience you won't soon forget!

Kitchen is almost closed after a long day of making fufu

      

The People Groups of Liberia

"The Sixteen Tribes"
A Popular Carving Piece Sold in Liberia

When the US encouraged and supported groups of "free people of color" to return to Africa in the 1800's they did not arrive at a desolate land.  These Americo-Liberians, as they became called, found a variety of ethnic groups already living and settled in what is now modern day Liberia.  Ethnologists and linguists have discovered all sorts of groups and subgroups, but the traditional number of Liberian tribes is 16.  These 16 people groups can themselves be structured into 3 linguistic groups:

• Mel (consisting of the Gola and Kissi tribes)
• Kru (Bassa, Bella, Dei, Grebo, Krahn, Kru)
• Mande (Bandi, Gio, Kpelle, Loma, Mandingo, Mano, Mende, Vai)

NOTE: These groups are notorious for having a multitude of different spellings and names.  For example, the "Gio" are also called the "Dan" or the "Yakuba"; the "Loma" are also called the "Buzi"; and the "Mende" are also known as the "Boumpe", "Hulo", or "Kosso".  Besides the different names one may encounter for some of these people groups there are a multitude of different spellings for almost all of these groups.  For example the "Kissi" people can be listed as "Kisi", "Gisi", "Gizi", or "Kissien".

Traditional Territories of Liberian Tribes
Creative Commons License

Largest Ethnic Groups in Liberia

The four largest people groups in Liberia make up over 50% of the population.  The largest group is comprised of the Kpelle people (aka Gbese, Kpele, Kpesso, Kpwesi, Kpwessi, Pessa, Pessy) and they make up approximately 20% of the entire population of Liberia.  The second largest group is the Bassa who make up roughly 16%.  The Gio/Dan (8%) and the Kru (7%) round out the top four most populous tribes of Liberia.  

Who Were the First Liberians?

The Earliest Settlers

Who were the earliest settlers of Liberia? Was it a Gola/Kissi proto-tribe? The Dei? The Dua? Many histories I've read believe that it was the Gola people who were the first to arrive in what is modern day Liberia.  However, traditions have been passed on that when they arrived they found some Dei (De, Dei, Dewoi, Dewoin, Dey) peoples already settled here. Even more mysteriously these Gola found the Jinna (Jina) or more specifically the Dua (Dwarf) peoples. 

Jinna and Dua

The Jinna (associated with our word 'geni') are apparantly spirit beings with great magic and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and bodies. One particular type of Jinna are the Dua people and it is speculated by some that they were the first Liberians.  These Dua have become the thing of legends (although some still claim to have seen them) and they were possibly a pygmy race that lived in caves and the hollows of fallen trees while living off the jungle in ancient Liberia.  They also possessed great magic power and so they have become associated with the Jinna or as a manifestation of the Jinna. The Jinna in general are believed to know deep magic and they still continue to play a role in Liberian legend, lore & ritual.  For a great definition and illustration of this read "WARNING! Do Not Bathe or Wash Clothes Today and Tomorrow, You Must Not Eat!"

The Kissi People

Another early group are the Kissi and they are perhaps associated with these early Gola. Perhaps there was a proto group from which they both derive? Whatever the case, the Kissi people are classified in the same linguistic family with the Gola. The problem with that is they are not mutually understood and in fact, some linguists have placed Gola in its own peculiar language grouping.  The Kissi are today found not too far from the Gola in Liberia (and also in Sierra Leone and Guinea) and I'll discuss two interesting features of the Kissi here.  First, they have been known to sharpen their incisors for cosmetic and/or ritualistic purposes.  Secondly, they are most famously known for their iron bars that they used as money (called Kissi pennies) up into the 20th century.

The Second Wave

The second major wave of peoples to arrive still remain on the edges of recorded history thousands of years before Christ.  This group was known as the "Kumbas" or the people of King Kumba.  This  chief Kumba apparantly conquered the Golas and set up his ancient empire in what is now Liberia.  After his death his peoples subdivided into what is now known as the Bandi, Kpelle, Loma, Mano, Gio, and Mende.  

The Third Wave

A Traditional Bassa Greeting
For more on this event check out "The Spotted Man of Zondo and His Ancient Horn"

In comparatively more modern times (1500's AD) a third big migration of Kru (sometimes called Kwa) peoples came from the modern-day Cote d'Ivoire area.  This group comprised of the Bassa, Bella, Dei, Grebo, Krahn, and Kru.  The Kru are interesting in that they settled the coast and were skilled sailors and fishermen and today are major players in the fishing industry of Liberia.  This also meant that they were the ones most targeted for forced ship labor by European ships.  Some speculate that their name "Kru" derives from the word "crew" into which they were often conscripted. The Kru were also targets of a modern day (1900's) conscription in the infamous Fernando Po incident that I'll discuss in a later post.

The Last 'Native' Migration to Liberia

The last great migration before the Americo-Liberians arrived in the 1800's comprised of the Vai (Gallinas, Gallines, Vei, Vy) and Mandingo (Mandinka, Malinke, Mandinko) peoples.  They came in waves during the 16th and 17th centuries respectively and are similar in two major aspects.  First, both of these groups are from the same linguistic family (Mande).  Secondly, they are both Muslim.  (Liberia is roughly 10% Muslim and these two groups make up the bulk of the population of this religious perspective in Liberia.  It is estimated that Liberia is also 30% Christian and 60% Animistic, although these stats seem to be in constant flux).  

There are some differences between these two Mande groups however. For example, the Vai are quite settled in Northwest Liberia and parts of neighboring Sierra Leone, the Mandingo people however continue to have much larger population centers outside of Liberia.  Liberia has approximately 200,000 Mandingo, but compare this to the nations of Guinea (3,000,000), Mali (2,600,000), Burkina Faso (2,000,000), Niger (1,900,000) and The Gambia (714,000 - where they make up 42% of the population).  In Liberia the Mandingo make up close to 7% of the population but they draw on these other larger population centers outside of Liberia to become a major force of trade and business dealings in Liberia.  In other words, they are small in population size in Liberia, but they are well-connected throughout West Africa.

Some Traditional "Devil" Costumes found on a wall in Vai Territory
Robertsport, Liberia

Other Ethnic Groups Living In Liberia

There are also other people groups that add to the diversity of the culture of Liberia.  One group is the Lebanese and Syrian business community that used to dominate the trade in Liberia.  Since the UN presence after the Civil Wars however this group has had major competition from Indian, Pakistani and Chinese businessmen.  The Fanti people from Ghana also continue to reside in Liberia and trade in the fishing industry.  Besides these major sub-groups engaged in Liberian culture there are also many businessmen from neighboring African nations (especially members of ECOWAS) and European and North American communities mostly focused on humanitarian causes.

A Fanti Town near Buchanan, Liberia

The Wonderful Mix That Makes Liberia

Take all of these people groups together with the Americo-Liberians from the US and you get a very interesting mix of cultures, languages (approximately 32 (counting dialects)) and ethnicities.  Liberia is a melting pot of cultures that sometimes clash and sometimes compliment one another.  There has also been a lot of intermarriages and several aggressive national unification initiatives that have brought about blurred lines between these tribal distinctions.  This is especially true in the city of Monrovia which now is home to almost 30% (1,000,000) of the population all by itself!  Outside of Monrovia and especially as one gets away from any of the Liberian cities and further into the traditional territories of specific tribes and clans these distinctions will become more defined and the old traditions will be more valued and preserved by the people living there.  As one can see, Liberia is a very diverse and complex experience!