MENDE MIGRATION AND DIASPORA

The people of Mende account for about one-third of the population of Sierra Leone. Linguistic and cultural traits suggest that the people of Mende descended from the thirteenth-century Mali Empire. Before the eighteenth century Mende territory did not extend to its present coastal areas, and territorial increase resulted from wars. Through wars and raids and subjugation and enslavement of other peoples, the Mende assimilated other groups, such as the Sherbro and the Vai. Mende cultural expansion and domination, referred to as "mendenization," continued through the colonial era, although more peacefully as Mende settlements spread in the trading areas. This geographic mobility explains aspects of Mende cultural diversity, particularly dialectic differences.

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MENDE AND THEIR NEIGHBORS

The people of Mende occupy the southern and eastern parts of Sierra Leone. Their territory falls within the rain forest belt of West Africa. The narrow strip of coastland forms the western and southwestern boundary between the Mende and the Sherbro-Bullom, the Krim, and the Vai. To the easternmost part of Sierra Leone and the northeast are populated by the Kissi and the Kron peoples, respectively. The Jong, Sewa, and Moa rivers flowing from the more hilly northern region of Sierra Leone intersect Mende territory in the west, center, and east.

Historically, from the sixteenth until the early eighteenth century, the people of Mende were aggressors against their neighbors: the sherbro-bullom, Vai, and Gola. Mende fighters participated in the wars and revolts of the colonial period, which ended in 1961 with the independence of Sierra Leone.

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BIRDS OF MENDE

The Republic of Sierra Leone is located in coastal West Africa. Sierra Leone has a typical equatorial climate, with wet and dry seasons each lasting about six months. Due to condusive climate within the regions of the Mende's, they are blessed with a variety of birds diversifying these areas. Some of these birds include:

Grebes

Grebes are small to medium-large sized freshwater diving birds. Generally have lobed toes, and are excellent swimmers. They have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land. Interestingly out of the 20 species worldwide, 1 only species is found in Sierra Leone and in the lands of the Mende.

Grebes

Shearwater petrel bird

These birds are generally characterized by united nostrils with a medium septum, and a long outer functional primary. There are 75 species worldwide and 4 species are found within the homelands of the Mende's.

shearwater petrel bird

Pelicans:

Large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes. There are 8 species worldwide and 1 species is found in the Mende regional lands.

pelican bird

The Phalacrocoracidae

The Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium-to-large coastal, fish-eating sea-birds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage coloration varies with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black and white, and a few being colorful. There are 38 species worldwide and 1 species can be found in the main lands of Mende.

a phalacrocoracidae bird

References:

• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Podiceps_nigricollis_001.jpg/300px-Podiceps_nigricollis_001.jpg
• http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608028581684578648&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0
• http://www.birdsgallery.net/gallery/pelicans/pelican_3.jpg
• http://www.hat.net/photo/africa/30_birds/cormorants/070920121344_cormorant.jpg

MENDE COSMOS

Marriage: 

Marriages are mostly exogamous and patrilocal within the mende's. It's a sign of social progress, and chastity is frowned upon and considered abnormal. For a man, Polygyny enhances a man's social caliber and prestige. Economically, polygyny provides labor to the family for farming when children are being born into the family. Divorce traditionally is not common, but exceptional circumstances can lead a marriage to be dissolved after which the bride-wealth is refunded to the husband.

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Inheritance:

 Patrilineal form of inheritance is very common in the inheritance system of the Mende’s. After the passes away, his immediate heirs to his land are his brothers in order of age, followed by his sons and then his daughters. In their absence, the matrilineal system of inheritance prevails and the nephew becomes the heir.

Religious Beliefs:

Priests serve as mediators between the local people of the Mende and their deities. They offer sacrifices to the deities to ask for protection and favor on behalf of the local people. There are also diviners, traditional physicians who diagnose illness, interpret omens and predict the future. The traditional healing doctor takes the functional role of the priest's in ritual healing and prepares protective charms against evil and harmful spirits.

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Sande, also known as bundo is a women's association found within the culture where girls are initiated into womanhood with notions of morality and appropriate sexual conduct being instilled in them. In these rites, women are made to wear wooden face mask controlled exclusively by women – a feature which underlines the peculiar social position of women within the society.

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World of the Mende

People of Mende practice the chieftaincy rural system whereby each chiefdom is made up of different sections with each consisting of a number of villages or towns. Traditional houses are built relatively close to each other and are usually round or rectangular in shape built from mud daub and palm thatch as roofs. 

typical mende house 

The subsistence way of farming is the most common farming method, where families engage in gardening

around their family homes to grow crops like cassava, yam, millet, rice and vegetables like tomatoes, eggplant, chili peppers,etc.

Animal domestication is purposely done for meat and poultry for eggs and excess of food is being sold at the market and those they couldn't produce is being acquired at the market place.

Manufacturing of crafts in the form of earthenware, brooms, mats, etc is very common. other forms of industrial artifacts include simple farm tools like machetes, hoes, rake; and sculpted objects like masks, ritual objects,etc used during traditional ceremonies and festivals. 

Homeland of the People of Mende

They primarily occupy the southern and eastern parts of Sierra Leon and have a small group believed to reside in Liberia.. There are 3 different Mende sub-groups; the Kpa-Mende, Sewa Mende, and the Ko-Mende also known as Kolo Mende. They speak the Mende language and have a population roughly over 1.7 million in Sierra Leone alone and 1.8 million worldwide. Primarily religion is Islam and they also believe in native elements such as a supreme being, ancestral spirits, secret societies and witch finders; and that all humanistic and scientific power is passed down through secret societies. They live primarily in villages of 70 to 250 residents situated from 1.5 to 5 kilometers apart. Most of them engage in agriculture and animal domestication usually in their homes. Work is divided by gender with men attenting to heavy work like clearing land (usually use simple farm tools like hoes and machetes) and the women attend to cleaning and pounding crops harvested. Crops grown may include millet, cassava, yams, sesame. Palm nuts are harvested to produce oil raffia palms are tapped for palm wine.

a typical mende house

A mende family engaged in farming

Mende market place

History of the People of Mende

Historically the people of Mende are believed to be descendants of the 13th century Mali empire which migrated to Sierra Leon from Sudan as invading forces. They are one of the 2 largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leon along with the Temne's. Regional warfare in the 19th century led to a lot of Mende people being sold into slavery some of whom won their freedom and sent back home; others were not so lucky. Today in Sierra Leone some of them are found in major cities like Bo, Kenema and Movamba.

geographic location on the african map

people of Mende