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
Ceremonial
Mask
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-africa/west-africa/sierra-leone/a/sowei-mask-sierra-leone
Sierra
Leone’s Music
music
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