Mama Sabina and Sisi Elizabeth

Mama Sabina Garlough (on the left) and Sisi Elizabeth (hands on hips) were two women in our neighborhood on Dama Rd who became our close friends. Mama Sabina was a wonderfully kind and generous person. Of limited means she took it upon herself to see that no one went without help - and this often included food. She was a wonderful mother - nurturing to her extended family that she looked after - and with us she saw to it that each night we had a large meal of rice and sauce (plasas). She was a very hard worker as were many of our neighbors. In exchange for her being so helpful and kind to us we paid some of her children's school fees - something that she never asked us to do and was almost embarassed when she learned that we were doing it. Her husband - Pa Garlough was a nightwatchman at Forest Industries in Kenema. Her nephew - Patrick was one of our best friends. A daughter Elizabeth was a frequent visitor to our house. Baby Elizabeth, another daughter was about 11 or so and a student at our primary school.

Sisi Elizabeth was a wonderfully easy going woman - always with a wonderful smile and a very positive outlook. It was from her that I usually bought 5 cents of daily groundnuts daily. She was a wonderful person. In the back ground in white docket and with her back to the camera is the head of the Bondo Society in our area (and our neighbor) - Mama Hokey Kemoh.

Mama Mabinty

Mama Mabinty lived in our section of Dama Road across from the entrance to the Holy Rosary Secondary School and Teacher's Training College. She was of Mende and Mandingo background and in her yard she designed and made garrah cloth and wax prints for sale. She took on one of our students as a boarder in her house named Aminata Lahai. Mama Mabinty was a very proper woman - always very formal on my visits, and always very polite. I think she may have been Aminata's aunt, but the exact relationship I do not remember. From time to time I would drop by her yard to see what she was creating. She would allow me to watch while she went at her work. At the time when I lived there she must have been in her late 30's or early 40's. In the picture she is making a wax print. Behind her with the big smile is our student - Aminata Lahai and in the background is one of our teacher training students named Cecilia Jah.

Patrick Garlough

photo to left: Susan, Patrick, Wiggle (our dog), and me

Patrick came from near Kailahun which was a town to the east of Kenema and relatively near the Liberian border. Patrick was in some way related to Sabina and Pa Garlough - he said that they were his aunt and uncle. In Kenema he lived across from us on Dama Road. Patrick had finished primary education most likely in Kenema but when school fees dried up he turned to becoming a laborer. I assume that Patrick was

about my age although he might have been older. Patrick became our trusted friend while we lived in Kenema. He and I traveled many a bush road together traveling the back country of the Kenema area. From Vaama, to the River Moa, to Foindu, to visits to weavers, carvers, Patrick became my guide to Mende culture as we traveled about. In our treks he taught me Mende, taught me about Mende farming, introduced me to Limba palm-wine dealers, showed me where they were still making cotton country clothes, and in the process we spent a good deal of time walking about and learning about the area. It was common on a free weekend for us to take off on one of the many narrow bush trails to visit a farm or to visit one of the many small villages. It was not unusual for us to walk 14 miles in a day as we hiked about. I think Patrick was amused that I always had my camera with me and that I was so intent on, "learning all the Mende secrets to take home to America." However he knew my respect for him and for the people that I met on the way, and thus he never seemed to tire showing me what was out there. In fact, Patrick took great pleasure in pointing out interesting things which he felt needed explaining. But unfortunately in this 2 years of guidance I never was able to learn much about him and this I regret. He always held his cards close and although I did learn that a grandfather of his had been a great warrior in the Hut Tax wars early in the century, I knew very little about his siblings or his parents. I do know that he seemed to be on his own, as many young men were in Kenema. He seemed closest to the Garloughs but was for the most part quite aloof. Yet he was my friend still. He called me Mr. Finer despite my repeated requests to be less formal. He never asked me for anything in return for his wonderful teaching. I was able to find him a job at the school compound cutting grass. I gave him my machete that I had had made by a local blacksmith in Tokpombu - a village nearby our house. From time to time he would eat "chop" with us at our house (usually cooked by his "auntie" Sabina). I have wonderful memories of Patrick. It was toward the end of our service - in the last month - when he gave us a cherished possession he had from his warrior grandfather. This was an ivory carved container with hammered silver spoon - used for holding snuff. This was such a prized and cherished possession that he gave us. For Susan and I saying good-bye was very difficult. I have been unable to find out whether he is still alive.

Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)

In March of 1969 I came down with malaria and spent a very unpleasant two weeks up in Kenema trying to deal with it. Along with this, I also had some stomach problems - mainly a persistent ache in my abdomen associated with nausea and inability to eat. This all began after I returned from a mountain climbing trip to the Loma Mountains. I lost considerable weight. Jim Alrutz, the Peace Corps director for the Eastern Province drove me down to Freetown to get checked out by the Peace Corps doctor. However by the time I saw him (his first name was Dudley - I do not remember his last name) in Freetown I was feeling better. On the first night of my stay in Freetown, I ran in to a few volunteers who were in Freetown and after checking in to stay at Fourah Bay College (for some reason I must have been staying there although I can not remember how this was arranged), we eventually met up in the lobby of the Paramount Hotel. We went there with Joseph Kennedy, who in those days was head of the Sierra Leone Peace Corps program. I think there were a few other Peace Corps officers with us that night. We all had a few beers ('You're brighter by far on a Star'), when, as we were sitting in the lobby, we were joined by Stokely Carmichael (also known as Kwame Ture). I suspect that Joe Kennedy must have known him. Mr. Carmichael was in Sierra Leone with his wife, a well-known singer named Miriam Makeba. She had given a few concerts in Sierra Leone. I remember him complaining that she had not received pay for the concerts and this made him angry. Stokely Carmichael had been a well-known U.S. civil rights activist in the early 1960's and was once head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committe (SNCC) and also had leading role in the Black Panthers. However he had left the U.S. and during the late 1960's was living in Guinea. That night - except for his expressed frustration with Sierra Leonean concert organizers, he was rather surprisingly calm and placid. This was so different from his earlier U.S. public personna. We all joked. He was very cordial and friendly to us. After an hour or so of small-talk, and a few Star beers, he left and we went up to the College to sleep. The next morning I headed back to Kenema with Jim Alrutz. Miriam Makeba was quiet - she sang for us.

"Playing for Change" - Mark Johnson

Although this posting is of a more global theme then our Peace Corps days, this morning I was very moved by an email that my youngest son sent me and I wish to pass it along to anyone who may be following this site, or reading this blog. I am able to connect this to my own intense and moving experience as a Peace Corps volunteer back so many years. I have mentioned this before in other postings how I became aware of both an undercurrent of cadence and song daily while living in Africa. Why was I more aware of this in Africa then at home? - I wonder. For me if it wasn't that I both had, and took the time to step back and experience more. Perhaps I was also growing up, and had more time to be aware and appreciate what was around me. However it was Africa that taught me, in its own unique way, that how we get about, how we function, and how we cope daily, is supported and aided by an undercurrent of rhythms, harmony, and cadence. In Africa this was so potent. From the mother singing or dancing with her baby on her back, to the farmer laboring on his rice farm, to the rhythmic banging of mortar and pestle preparing the days meal, to the celebration of a holiday or an important visitor, there was always a beat and a thread of music. In Africa I heard music for the first time that had it roots way back in time in a culture that at first seemed so remote, but in time became our first home. And when you listened to the cadence, to the harmony, to the complex words and ancient tunes you could hear in them the seeds of much of the music that I had grown to love in America. It was the eery harmonies that I loved the most.  It was the strong percussed beating of what seemed initially like exotic instruments that always caught my attention.  

What Danny has sent me is a beautiful piece by Bill Moyers about a man named Mark Johnson - a man who has an idea and a dream. The piece is worth listening to 

 http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/12052008/watch3.html

Pa Maju Bah - Fula Section Chief in Kenema

Pa Maju's house sits at the top of the hill on the right in this view of Dama Road. Our house was about a quarter mile beyond this on the left. Kenema would be behind us in this picture.

Fulas celebrate at Pa Maju Bah's house on Dama Road in Kenema

(double click on all photos to make them larger)

Fula men outside Pa Maju Bah's house in Kenema (above)

Pa Maju Bah - Fula section chief - Kenema

[Known as Fula in Sierra Leone (also known as Fulani, Fulbe, or Peul elsewhere), this ethnic group was primarily a nomadic people, perhaps the only such nomads in West Africa. In Sierra Leone they were pastorialists and traders, also involved in herding cattle, and in trading all types of goods. The Fula were strong adherents to the Muslim religion. Many had settled in villages all over the country. What was a very impressive trait was that their beef would be herded for hundreds of miles by men on foot. When the cattle arrived in Kenema they would be very thin and very tough. It was not uncommon, by the time of arrival of the beef in our area, for them to have traveled nearly a thousand miles in some cases. Most of the Fula in our area probably came from Guinea.]

Alhadjji Pa Maju Bah (see photo of him above) lived on Dama Road just before the road took a long downhill on the way to downtown Kenema. He was the Fula section chief in our area. He had been to Mecca and thus had the title Alhadji. He was very well-liked. The Fula originally came from north and east of Sierra Leone and are found all over West Africa. In our area they were perhaps best known as cattlemen, although many young men were involved in the selling of tie-died cloth known as Garrah Cloth, and the selling of other items on the street. The Fula women may have been involved in the dying of Garrah as well as the making of wax printed cloth (although women from the Mangingo and Susu groups as well as the Mende and other groups also were involved). I had been told that most of the Fula cattle in our area came from Guinea. Pa Maju was the cattleman for our area and his son, Amado was the butcher who once a week would deliver meat to our doorstep. Pa Maju Bah's group clearly were involved in the small but successful (if not expensive) Kenema meat market. The meat came to us wrapped in newspaper and, would quickly spoil quickly if not refrigerated due to the heat. Amado came by our house weekly to personally deliver the meat. In those days we had a kerosene refrigerator in which we could easily keep foods from spoiling. However if food sat out in the hot and humid air it would spoil within an hour. Unfortunately for us this did happen several times. Amado would leave the meat in a metal box by our door, but if we were away when the meat arrived, by the time we got home we would have to discard the meat due to its spoiling. Needless to say we made efforts to be around for Amado’s weekly deliveries. In our early Kenema days before Amado delivered meat, we got meat down town from a butcher in the market. It was later, after I got to know Amado and his father, we got regular deliveries from him. The beef was best marinated to make it more tender (it could be very tough otherwise).

It was Pa Maju Bah who in 1969 (when the U.S. put a man on the moon) asked me one day when I was passing by his house, if I knew anything about the moon landing. I had read about it in one of the magazines that we could get from time to time. I had heard broadcasts about it on short-wave radio from the U.S. Information Services Radio. But in 1969, communications including TV were difficult where we lived and thus I had never actually seen movies of this landing. With luck, I was able to obtain a documentary movie and projector from the U.S.I.S. (sent to the Peace Corps office) and one night I went back to show him the movie of the landing on the moon. He did not speak English so I was the translator as a large group of his friends hovered about watching. Pa Maju had traveled and was not unworldly. He was a very serene and peaceful man. It was not unusual for him to travel by plane (it was rumored that he was in some way involved in the diamond business). However it was clear that he was disturbed by the U.S. landing on the moon. After my presentation he looked at me and stated how amazed he was by this accomplishment, but that he was very disturbed that, "Americans wanted to play God." He was a devout Muslim. I remember him repeating this several times as we talked, "...why do Americans want to play God?" I walked away realizing that I had no answer appropriate for him.

As the leader of the Fula community in Kenema, Pa Maju Bah was treated almost as royalty by other Fulas in Kenema. He was a very proud and intelligent man, who got along well with the other groups in the Kenema area. He was quiet, lived a simple life in Kenema. Meeting with him was always challenging for me as he often asked me questions that I found difficult to answer. He was also a modest man, despite being very rich by Sierra Leone standards. My sense was that when I knew him he was in his late 50's. His house was about a quarter mile from ours, and sat just above a pasture where he grazed his cattle, and above a swamp where rice was grown. The house itself was rambling, with metal roof, quite large by Kenema standards, yet very simple. He did have electricity. At his house there was always a large crowd of people. When there were Muslim holidays to be celebrated the Fula seemed to celebrate the most. At these wonderful times of celebration it would not be unusual to see the Fulas gathering in front of Pa Maju's house, or coming back on Dama Road from the Kenema Mosque, to carry-on a large celebration of dance (acrobatics) and Fula singing and music. As noted before, the Fula used more stringed-instruments, and flute-like instruments in their song. It had a more Saharan quality to it than the Mende - even at times to me sounding almost North-African. And the Fula men, in their unique and very baggy pants would do acrobatic in their dance. Pa Maju would usually be the center of it all as the area leader, with these wonderful celebrations going on at mid-day in his front yard. I have many a picture of these glorious times as I lived so close and would often pass by on my way either to or from downtown Kenema.

Fula Instruments: [1] The Tamba or Fula Flute [2] The Hoddu - the Fula plucked banjo [3] The Riti (or Ritti) which was a one string, bowed instrument similar to a violin [4] Fula Drums and gourds used for percussion. The Fula also had a shake-shake (used by men) - I do not know its name.

For some sites of both contemporary and traditional Fula music see:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=255124436
and:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXx12CHWWbE&feature=related

and: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg8hi02OS4s&feature=related

and: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQLg0MU0Y-s&feature=related

and: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPobAFH_x4Y&feature=related

Musical Instruments

Pa Sam's wife Massa playing segburreh on Dama Road in Kenema

I am certainly not well-versed in the instruments and music of Sierra Leone but I know and remember what I liked. I was most fond of the "Mende Sing, " as noted in previous postings. The Mende women's music was (as I have said) haunting to me in its strikingly beautiful harmony, its patient and soothing rhythm, and the way it was portrayed. I was also struck by how these songs wove their way into every woman's life - each woman knew every song - its harmony - and the words. I suppose this might be true of any culture's music, but for me the Mende Women's music was beautiful. Most often - during the times when there would be spontaneous get-togethers on the veranda across the road - the leader (most often Bonya) would sing acapella (no instruments were used). The songs were slow in cadence at times - the harmonies in minor key. When there were more celebratory times a Segbureh (or shake-shake) would be used to mark the cadence. The segbureh was most often a women's instrument in Mendeline. I remember no other instruments that the Mende women used. The Mende men I less commonly observed singing. During the Kenema Trade Fair or what was best known as the Kenema Cacao Show the men would be more obvious using their hollowed slit logs that were called Kellei to beat the cadence this often accompanied by either native or European drums. [please see Nikiibu's communication below]. In one picture of Falwi below there is an attendant, dressed in netting, who is carrying the Jeke or men's shake-shake] The men's music was strong, and again with beautiful harmonies, but perhaps to my ear more harsh then the women's music. On occasion there was a metallic-sounding instrument used but this was - I think - more common in our area to the Loko men. I do not remember what the name of this instrument was called. The Mende rarely used stringed instruments with their traditional music although as exemplified by S.E. Rogers, many had no trouble transcending traditions in their participation in what was known as "High Life" music of West Africa or "palm wine music". Another Mende man, and his father before him, named Salia Koroma (see prior postings) used the accordion in his very creative poetry set to song. But for the most part - stringed instruments did not seem to be traditional to the Mende. The Fula (known elsewhere in West Africa as Fulani) did have a number of stringed instruments which had the appearance of gourd-like banjos (the forerunner of the banjo in the U.S.). The Fula also palyed a flute-like instrument. I never did know names of instruments other than what the Mende played. There may have been other northern ethnic groups such as the Mandingo and Susu who played such instruments. The Mandingo (and perhaps Susu as well) used a wooden and gourd instrument resembling the xylophone which was called a Balanji.

I spent a total of about 1.5 weeks in Kuranko country and had the luck of being in the village of Sokurella in March 1970 when there was a very fine celebration one evening while we were there. People from around the area (it was quite remote in the Loma Mountains) came to this get-together. It was at this time that their Bondo initiates were "coming out" and on one night there was spectacular singing, dancing, and music. I remember mainly percussion instruments but do not remember there being any stringed or other instruments. The celebration lasted late into the night - I never was able to find out what it was due to. I was impressed by how inclusive people were - as we were strangers in the area but were to some degree included in the activities. Sokurella was a small village of perhaps 100 inhabitants. That night there may have been 1000 visitors.

As Peace Corp volunteers in training we were very lucky to have had several opportunities to see what in those days was known as The Sierra Leone Dance Troupe. This award winning group made up of all the ethnic groups in Sierra Leone including my introduction to in-country music as we first saw them in July 1968 while training in Freetown. We all were so impressed by what we saw. Every group was represented. There was also traditional dance and acrobatics performed by both men and women. We all left that night feeling hypnotized by the wonderfully accomplished Troupe.

Much to our surprise, while we lived in Putney, Vermont the Sierra Leone Dance Troupe came to Burlington, Vermont to perform. We were able to obtain tickets and watch a wonderful performance there - this taking place in 1971. I remember being so excited to see them again - I wore a garrah tie-died shirt up there to identify with "my fellow coutrymen and women." For Susan and I this felt like a family reunion. Here we were, one year away from our Peace Corps days and already feeling "homesick."

One final impression was how daily life in up-country Sierra Leone was always accompanied by a background beat that made getting through the day for folks just that much easier. From the man brushing his farm, to the women at work in the kitchen using mortar and pestle to seperate the rice from its husk, there was always a background of cadence to the day and sometimes even to the night.

A very interesting blog that is worth looking at is: http://www.myspace.com/banjoroots

this site shows some of the West African roots to American music and the banjo

for a great blog site about Mende accordionist and singer Salia Koroma check out this site: http://nikiibu.blogspot.com/

Also worth listening to is S.E. Rogers

http://waxidermy.com/images/S.E.%20Rogie%20-%20Palm%20Wine%20Guitar%20Music%20-%2007%20-%20My%20Lovely%20Elizabeth.mp3

and http://waxidermy.com/images/S.E.%20Rogie%20-%20Palm%20Wine%20Guitar%20Music%20-%2002%20-%20Please%20Go%20Easy%20With%20Me.mp3

Or for Salia Koroma (Thanks to http://nikiibu.blogspot.com/) see http://vimeo.com/2265543

and for two examples of music, in this site click on Mende women's society song and also click on Mende slit drum and horn ensemble : https://web3.unt.edu/the/dso/index.php?portraits=african_music&action=textonly

The Kenema Trade Fair/Kenema Cacao Show

The Kenema Trade Fair (also known as the Kenema Agricultural Fair or Show or The Cacao Show in the 1980's)each December was a wonderful celebration of commerce, agriculture, and culture in the area. Kenema was the capital of the Eastern Province. Certainly a lot of cacao or cocoa/coffee was grown in the area - it was, and probably still is an important cash crop. I do remember visiting a cacao plantation out on Dama Road on the way to Foindu Nongowa where B.S. Massaquoi had a large plantation and was using modern methods to grow coffee. B.S. Massaquoi was an important man in Kenema (see my story about Allieu B. Massaquoi - his son). In addition to being a minister of parliament he was interested in expanding his interest in modern agricultural techniques. At the age of 76, during the recent war, he and a number of other important men in Kenema were killed by rebels.

The Cacao Show was a multicultural celebration for the area in which each ethnic group had the oppertunity to show something about itself in celebration of the many cultures that were living in the Kenema area. The Fulas would play their music in song and do their well-known acrobatic dancing - all while in their traditional dress. There would be music from all the groups including the Temne, the Loko, the Limba, the Mandingo and Susu, and of course the Mende - the prdominant ethnic group in the area. For Kenema it was an important festival and a time for celebration. During the day - many a Spirit (Devil) was out and about - and it was possible while walking in the streets of Kenema to come across either a celebration of singing and music, or a devil that was passing about. I believe the headquarters for the fair was in or near the government quarters where at the height of the festival a very large crowd of 10,000 or so would gather to watch and listen, or to celebrate. When times were peaceful this was a wonderful fair. One year when there had been trouble in the area the festival was cancelled due to fears that such a large gathering might lead to fighting. My biggest challenge was the hot sun which if I wasn't careful might give me a terrible sunburn. On the day or two that I might be out from morning to night the sun could be quite a threat by mid-day if I wasn't careful. I do remember there being a lot of soldiers at the fair and at one point I remember there being some trouble that resulted in some of the soldiers pushing and shoving the audience, this resulting in a near panic of some of the crowd. I remember coming across a soldier beating some people with his rifle - I was not sure if it was loaded. A few of us were able to convince him to back off and nothing really came of it. However my most vivid memories are of the wonderful, celebratory atmosphere that was in Kenema during the fair. For me it was a time to see and hear so many new things. It was the unusual time when all the ethnic groups were together and showing their stuff with pride. It was a chance to see this all in Kenema. That is not to say that I didn't have lots of opportunity to hear the wonderful traditional music. In the area where we lived in Kenema (the Dama Road section) many a full-moon was accompanied by singing and playing of percussion instruments. Nearby us there was a Loko group that one full moon had a wonderful celebration of singing by men. I remember Susan and I going out to listen (they lived across from us and toward town). Their singing was accompanied by some of the most powerful drumming that I have ever heard. There was also accompaniment by a percussed metal instrument that knocked out the beat with the drums. The drumming was so powerful that it was dizzying. The singing was beautiful. The harmony was breath-taking. There were other nights of singing on Mama Hokey's veranda at #55 Dama Road. Often led by our neighbor Bonya who had a wonderful voice, this harmony and song was eerily and hauntingly beautiful as she would sing of how hard Bundu was (Hey Bundu Nyamungo eh) and the group of women there would respond to each of her leads. My sense was that deep down people in the area loved to sing, and were especially and rightfully proud of their music. My sense also was that the reason there wasn't more of this was due to politics and peoples fears in this regard. However when people got in the mood for singing I found the music and song the most beautiful.

a Mende group at the Kenema Cacao Show - 1969 In this picture a man is playing the Mende slit-drum known as the Kellei.

The School Market

The school market was run by Mama Sabina, Sisi Elizabeth, Moiyatu, and other women who lived nearby the school on Dama Rd. Every day at about 11 am the women would haul their produce on tin trays to the road just to the east of the HRSS - Kenema school compound. They sold groundnuts (peanuts), some fruit (oranges, some pineapple), and benee seed cakes. In this section of Kenema there was the St. Paul's Boys primary school, the girl's primary school, HRSS Kenema, and the TTC. The market was mainly used by the primary school students. Almost every day I would buy about 5 cents worth of roasted peanuts which was enough to last me the rest of the day. All the produce was made or at least prepared across the road at #55 Dama Rd. On a good day a woman might make 1 - 2 leones, a good sum in those days. In this photo Mama Sabina  is bending over in the  blue-striped dress, with orange head dress, selling to primary school girls through the school fence. Bending over in the front is Moiyatu. The young baby in the picture with her hands up is Baby Hokey. The market would run from about just before noon until 1pm at which time the women would go back across the road and prepare rice for supper, and would also begin getting the next day's market ready. 

(double click on photo to enlarge)