AN UNKNOWN CULTURE
I remember in the year 1997 when the civil war started in sierra Leone and, and so we decided to leave the city and
Freetown
and go provinces my mother home town Ghandorhun Gbane chiefdom Kono
district eastern sierra Leone. It was a difficult thing for me to adapt
to the community because I did not know the culture of the People.
I
went in a community were the culture differs from the culture in the
city, the first culture I know was their diet and the food they eat
Locally grown crops are grown in the community and not harvested items,
such as Yams, cassava, cocoa, Coffee and hunting of bush animals. The
staple food is rice, eaten with a plassas (sauce), commonly made from
pounded cassava leaves, palm oil, and chilli peppers. The diet also
includes peanuts,
sweet potatoes,
beans, fish, chicken, goat, small bush animals, freetamboden (miniature
deer), and fruit, such as bananas, plantains, pineapples, star fruit,
breadfruit, papayas, oranges, grapefruits, mangoes, and coconuts. Fula
herd cattle are occasionally slaughtered and sold in the market.
Typically,
a midday snack is followed by a large meal in the late afternoon;
leftovers are put aside for the following morning's breakfast, which is
normally called cold rice. In the evenings, food sold on street stalls
is eaten by those who can afford it. When traditional meal is usually
served on a large platter with a bed of rice and a smaller amount of
sauce in the center. The sauce is not mixed with the rice. In many
homes, the husband may eat separately from his wife and children. In a
polygamous household, women, children, and the husband all eat from
different bowls. When visitors are present, adults eat from the common
platter; children may be given spoonfuls of rice in their hands or a
separate bowl. In villages, people eat with the right hand while
squatting on the ground. In towns, eating with a spoon at a table is
more common. When the meal is finished, water is usually passed around,
both to drink and to wash the face and hands.
The second culture I
learnt about this people is that girls were not sent to school what they
believe is the initiation of the girls into
secret societies
.This bundu mask is worn by young Kono girls in the Bondo society of
Sierra Leone, Africa. The Bondo society is responsible for the education
of the Kono women. This type of mask, worn during the initiation
ceremony, is made of highly polished wood and is meant to represent the
most desirable aspects of female beauty. And the boys are sent to
school and they will also undergo initiation into the poro societies
were they will undergo circumcision, and even in the bush they will be
thought hunting and how to fight to defend themselves.
The final
culture I learns about this people is the practice of polygamy the
marriage of one man to more than one wife. And the men believe if he
marries more than one wives he will have plenty children and he will
have enough people to work on the farm.I love the culture culture and also the hated the culture of initiation of boys and girls into secret societies.And finally i will like to be given this scholarship as our country will celebrate its fiftieth independence anniversary celebration on the 27th April and it will be a good venture for me to travel and learn about the culture of another country and for me to learn more.Thanks a lot as i look forward to hear from you.
