Sierra Leone - The Art & Music

Art:

The Mende people of Sierra Leone associated the art with different aspects of their lives. These events included political standings, protection, and even religious ceremony. The people of Sierra Leone would use raw materials such as wood, ivory, stone, and even some clothe work to make the art pieces that we are able to study today.

Many believed that the male figure below represented passed ancestors of the people who created it. These figures were typically made out of soapstone or steatitie, and were usually found in shrines and caves by the local people. These statues were said to be placed in the fields in order to bring on a prosperous season for the crops, but if the people experienced a bad season they would whip the figures so that the next year would be a good one.

Conakry, Sierra Leone;
Nomoli Style

Male figure

15th-17th century

Steatite)

Wood Figure of the Mende People

The pictures below are mask that have been worn by senior women of the Sande society in Sierra Leone. The Sande is an all women group that used mask like this as a rights of passage for girls into in adult hood, and each mask was carved to represent different aspects of beauty. These masks were commonly made out of cotton wood, and other fibers that could be found in the area. 

      Sowei helmet mask, collected in 1886,

 raffia palm fibre and cotton wood,

 43 x 25 cm,  Sierra Leone 

MENDE
BUNDU HELMET MASK 75

Music: 

Sierra Leone’s music as a whole is  inspired by French, British, Krio, and also native influences. The most commonly known representation of these mixtures are know as Palm wine, Gumbre, Afropop, and modern.

Palm wine which is also know as Maringa is western Africa is a mixture of styles used from freed slaves of the Carribean and also Calyso from Trinidad. It is commonly played with a guitar, but can also be arranged with other instruments. 

Gumbre is a style of music in Sierra Leone that is closely related to Milo jazz. Milo jazz came about when the people of Sierra Leone would fill empty Milo cans with stones, and use the jars as  percussion for the music.

Sierra Leone has many other music that has inspired it’s cultures in many ways. These are just two examples of the many influences that the music of Sierra Leone has upon it’s people.

References:

Man stone figure

https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/chapters/ancient-africa/sierra-leone-stone-figure/  

Ceremonial Mask

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-africa/west-africa/sierra-leone/a/sowei-mask-sierra-leone

Sierra Leone’s Music

http://www.africanseer.com/african-articles/229992-sierra-leone-music.html

music

Sierra Leone's Geography

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            Sierra Leone is a young nation located in the northern and western hemisphere of Africa. Its coast consists entirely of the Atlantic Ocean. Sierra Leone’s location provides the perfect accommodations form tourist which brings an abundance of revenue for the nation. Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown is the largest city, and is located 8.4657° N, 13.2317°. Freetown is also home to one of the major ports on the Atlantic Ocean. This provides easy accessibility to and from the nation.

-           Sierra Leon’s landscape varies in many ways. Its name is Portuguese for “Lion Mountains”, which was given to explain the great mountains that inhabit Sierra Leone east. Mount Bintimani which stands at 6,391 ft. is the highest point of the nation, and the rest of Sierra’s landscape consists of farmlands, forest, bush, and even beaches. Which is also accompanied by water resources such as the Rokel, Taia, Sewa , and Moa Rivers. And, also the Atlantic Ocean which is the largest.

-          Sierra Leone’s wildlife also includes elephants, hippopotamuses, Bogo antelope, and leopards to name a few. It is also home to Outamba-Kilimi the only control savanna and national park in Sierra Leon.  Which protects and houses many of the wildlife listed above.

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-           Sierra Leone is know for having extreme climate changes through the year that can effect many factors for the people who inhabit the nation. Sierra Leone can experience extreme climate changes such as  droughts, heatwaves, and inconsistent rainfall to name a few. With the unpredictable and highly inconsistent climate patterns in Sierra Leon. Crop production and disease can reek havoc in the nation.  

Scientist believe that the extreme climate change plays a huge role in the risk of Ebola in Sierra Leon. With the weather changes, food becomes scarce and people begin looking for other options for food. One of these options include people eating bush meat ( wild animals) which are most commonly known to carry the disease, with in return infects the people who are consuming it. With bush meat being the more plentiful means for food, it increases the disease rate and morality among the people of Sierra Leon.

-          “With climate change expected to put increasing pressure on food security in Africa, food shortages will push more people to alternative food sources and consumption of bush meat, like bats, will likely increase,” (Kris Murray, senior research scientist at EcoHealth Alliance). 

      With the climate becoming more erratic as time goes on, harsh times are expected to develop upon the nation, and Africa as a whole once again. 

    References:
    Visit Sierra Leone Nature and Wildlife Reference:
    https://www.visitsierraleone.org/attractions/nature-and-wildlife/Outamba-Kilimi-National-Park.html

    How Climate Change is Exacerbating the Spread of Disease Reference:
    http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2014/09/04/how-climate-change-is-exacerbating-the-spread-of-disease/
   
    World Atlas Reference:
    http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/sierraleone/slland.htm