SIERRA LEONE

officially Republic of Sierra Leone republic of western Africa. Facing the Atlantic Ocean to the west with a coast 210 miles (340 km) long, Sierra Leone is bordered by Guinea to the north and east and Liberia to the southeast. The capital is Freetown. Area 27,699 square miles (71,740 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 4,491,000. officially Republic of Sierra Leone country of western Africa. It is bordered on the north and east by Guinea, on the south by Liberia, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It has an area of 27,699 square miles (71,740 square kilometres). The capital, Freetown, commands one of the world's largest natural harbours. The country owes its name to the 15th-century Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, the first European to sight and map Freetown harbour. The original Portuguese name of Serra Lyoa (Lion Mountains) referred to the range of hills that surrounds the harbour. Although most of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, Sierra Leone is also a mining centre. Its land yields diamonds, gold, bauxite, and rutile (titanium dioxide). Urbanization has resulted in the gradual depopulation of the rural areas and the growth of a jobless population in the cities. Additional reading D.R.G. Gwynne-Jones et al., A New Geography of Sierra Leone (1978), is an introduction; see also John I. Clarke (ed.), Sierra Leone in Maps, 2nd ed. (1969). Kenneth Little, The Mende of Sierra Leone, rev. ed. (1967); Michael Jackson, The Kuranko (1977); W.T. Harris and Harry Sawyerr, The Springs of Mende Belief and Conduct (1968); and R.H. Finnegan, Survey of the Limba People of Northern Sierra Leone (1965), are accounts of the most populous communities. Akintola Wyse, The Krio of Sierra Leone (1989), contains an account of the Krio of the western area. On the economy, see Ralph Gerald Saylor, The Economic System of Sierra Leone (1967). Accounts of modern political developments include Gershon Collier, Sierra Leone (1970); Walter Barrows, Grassroots Politics in an African State: Integration and Development in Sierra Leone (1976); Christopher Clapham, Liberia and Sierra Leone (1976); Thomas S. Cox, Civil-Military Relations in Sierra Leone (1976); Arthur Abraham, Mende Government and Politics Under Colonial Rule (1978), on the period 18901937; John R. Cartwright, Political Leadership in Sierra Leone (1978); and Gustav H.K. Deveneaux, Power Politics in Sierra Leone (1982). Christopher Fyfe, A History of Sierra Leone (1962), is a major historical work; it is complemented by Cyril P. Foray, Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone (1977). Other historical studies include C. Magbaily Fyle, The History of Sierra Leone (1981); Adam Jones, From Slave to Palm Kernels: A History of the Galinhas Country (West Africa), 17301890 (1983); D.A. Turay and Arthur Abraham, The Sierra Leone Army: A Century of History (1987); and Murray Last and Paul Richards (eds.), Sierra Leone, 17871987: Two Centuries of Intellectual Life (1987). Davidson S.H.W. Nicol Christopher Fyfe Administration and social conditions Government The constitution of 1971 made Sierra Leone a republic within the Commonwealth. Adoption of the constitution of 1978 created a one-party republic based on the All-People's Congress; the head of state, or executive president, was elected by delegates of the All-People's Congress, and there was a House of Representatives. Mounting political pressures and violence resulted in the adoption of a new constitution in 1991 that established a multiparty system. However, a violent military coup d'tat in April 1992 installed a National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) and a new head of state. The NPRC subsequently named a cabinet and ordered the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the suspension of the new constitution and all political activity. The NPRC was reconstituted as the Supreme Council of State, and the cabinet was replaced by a council of secretaries in July, establishing stringent military rule. The country is divided into four administrative unitsthe Western Area, which was the former Crown Colony of Sierra Leone, and three provinces (the Northern, Eastern, and Southern provinces), which were the former Protectorate of Sierra Leone. The Western Area includes the capital of Freetown. Northern Province is divided into five districts, Southern Province into four districts, and Eastern Province into three districts. The districts are subdivided into some 148 chiefdoms, which are controlled by paramount chiefs and chiefdom councillors. The chiefdoms are further divided into sections and villages. The chiefs are hereditary rulers whose local powers have been largely superseded by those of officials of the central and local government. Their influence remains important, however, particularly in matters of traditional culture and justice. In addition, there are district councils, which in some cases override the chiefdom administrations. The councils deal largely with local matters and are under the indirect control of the central government. Town councils also have been established in the larger provincial towns of Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Koidu, and Bonthe. The laws of Sierra Leone follow the pattern of British law. Until 1971 the framework of the courts was equally similar, and the final court of appeal was the Privy Council in London. Since the adoption of a republican constitution, however, the highest court is the Supreme Court, headed by a chief justice. There are local courts that take account of indigenous laws and customs, Magistrates' Courts administering the English-based code, a High Court, and a Court of Appeal. There are presiding officers in the local, magistrate, and juvenile courts who are not qualified lawyers but who are citizens of wide experience. The attorney general is also the minister of justice. Education Education in Sierra Leone is offered in private and government-sponsored schools; it is not compulsory. There are primary schools for children from ages five to 12, secondary schools that also offer a seven-year program, technical institutes, and several vocational schools, trade centres, and teacher-training colleges in the country. The University of Sierra Leone consists of Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827, and Njala University College, founded in 1963. Cultural life The most outstanding feature of the country's cultural life is its dancing. The Sierra Leone Dance Troupe is internationally known. The different communities of the nation have their own styles of costume and dance. In addition, certain closed societies, such as the Wunde, the Sande (Bundu), and the Gola, have characteristic ceremonial dances. A wide range of agility, gracefulness, and rhythm is displayed; in addition, there are elements of symbolism in most of the dances. Drums, wooden xylophones (called balaphones), and various stringed instruments provide the musical background. The Poro society for men and the Sande society for girls play an educational role in village culture. The Vai script has the distinction of being one of the few indigenous scripts in Africa. Some of the local languages are written in European script, but a few, especially in the Muslim areas in the north, have been transcribed into Arabic. Handicrafts The carving of various wooden masks in human and animal figures for the dances is especially advanced in the southern region. The Sande mask worn on the head of the chief dancer during the ceremony attending the reappearance of the female initiates from their period of seclusion is perhaps the most well-known carved figure in Sierra Leonean art. It is a symmetrically stylized black head of an African woman with an elaborate plaited pyramidal coiffure adorned with various figures and with a facial expression of grave dignity and beauty. Ivory figures are characteristic of the Sherbro, Bullom, and Temne peoples of the coastal and northern regions. Fine examples of these figures, which were bought or commissioned by Portuguese traders during the 16th century, are still extant. There are also steatite human figures, sometimes distorted, called nomoli, or, in wooden form, pomtan (singular, pombo), which certainly date earlier than the 16th century and were used probably for ancestor worship or fertility rites. At present, they are used for ceremonies to ensure abundance of crops. Containers or rattles are carved from gourds and are decorated with intricate geometric patterns that are burned into them. The weaving of blue or brown cloth of thick texture with linear designs is carried out in the southern and eastern regions by the Mende and the Kono. The cloth is made into coats for men or wrapped around as a lower garment by women and is also used as a bedspread. In the north, among the Temne, imported cotton or satin is dyed with indigo, the red juice of the kola nut, or imported dyes into beautiful patterns by tie-dyeing. In the west, baskets are made with dyed raffia, and patterned slippers are fashioned from dyed wool.