Culture of Liberia

Theculture of Liberiareflects this nation's diverse ethnicities and long history. Liberia is located in West Africa on theAtlantic Coast.
The official language of Liberia is English.There are also more than 16 indigenous languages.Among the most widely studied Liberian languages in schools and universities areKpelleandBassalanguages and to a lesser extent,Vai.LomaandMendealso have their own unique alphabets but are studied less.
Both languages are noted for their unique alphabets and phonetics that are not based on theLatin alphabet, or anyEuropean languagebut emerged from visions of each language's inventor. Bassaalphabetwas popularized by Dr. Thomas Narvin Lewis in the early 20th century, after attending studies in the U.S atSyracuse University. He modeled it after he came into contact with former slaves of Bassa origin in Brazil and the West Indies who were still using the alphabet. Vai is another well known ancient script from Liberia, but distinct from the Bassa alphabet.
Among the listed alphabets, Bassa Vah is compared to includeArmenian,Coptic(used by Egyptian Coptic and Coptic Church),Avestanused inAncient Persiato write sacredhymnsofZoroastrianism,Georgian languageinRepublic of Georgia,Mongolian,Meroitic alphabetof ancientSudanand parts ofNile Valley, and many other ancient scripts, Greek-based andCyrillicalphabets. Some Vah letters resemble certain letters from theGe'ezalphabet ofEthiopiaandEritrea,N'koalphabet inGuinea, and Armenian alphabet.
The syllabary of Vai also been compared toHiraganaandKatakanascripts also syllabary for Japanese language. However many linguists hold that Bassa and Vai alphabets are unique in their own right for being African languages with alphabets alongside Ge'ez, N'ko, andTifinagh(used to write Berber languages) that are neither influenced by Latin or Westernwriting system.
According To the 2008 National Census, 85.5% ofLiberia's population practicesChristianity.Muslimscomprise 12.2% of the population, largely coming from theMandingoandVaiethnic groups.
Regardless of public statements of identification with Christianity, a "vast majority"of Liberians believe a supernatural world of ancestral and bush spirits that impact daily life.Ethnic groups in all regions of Liberia participate in the traditional religious practices of thePoroandSandesecret societies, with the exception of theKrahnethnic group, who have their own secret society.
"Liberian religious culture is characterised by a predisposition towards secrecy (encapsulated in the concept ofifa mo- "do not speak it") and an ingrained belief in the intervention of mysterious forces in human affairs"."Both elite and non-elite Liberians usually attribute events to the activities of secret powers and forces".
"Beliefs include the conviction that there are deep and hidden things about an individual that only diviners, priests, and other qualified persons can unravel.This presupposes that whatever exists or happens in the physical realm has foundations in the spirit world".
While still belonging to Christian or Muslim denominations, ethnic groups in all regions participate in religious secret societies associated with the spirit world, including thePoroandSandegender-based secret societies.The Sande society champions women's social and political interests and promotes their solidarity vis-a-vis thePoro society, a complementary secret society for men. The Poro society is found among theBassa,Gola,Kissi,Kpelle,Loma,PeopleandVaiof Liberia.
One-third of married Liberian women between the ages of 15–49 are in polygamous marriages.Customary law allows men to have up to four wives.
Numerous newspapers, radio stations and TV programs are broadcast and can be heard in the capital Monrovia, coastal cities and towns and countryside. Radio, newspapers and online news articles are the main form of mass communication in Liberia in recent years, surpassing TV stations as the most accessible forms of media to Liberians. Many popular FM radio stations have their headquarters inMonroviaalong with several major national newspapers.
Many radio stations are community-based, operated by jointUnited Nationsand community councils, activists, youth groups, universities and neighborhood programs. The major radio stations in Liberia are UNMIL Radio, Radio ELWA, Truth Radio, ELBC Radio, andSTAR radio. All have programs available to listen to online. There are currently no AM radio stations (which existed before the war) but there are a few shortwave stations. Radio also serves to promote peace, reconciliation and connect the country both rural and urban Liberians through community based apprenticeship programs for youths and young adults.
A famous newsblackboardin Monrovia isThe Daily Talk.The Daily Talkis accessible for free.According toThe New York Times, the blackboard is "the most widely read report" in Monrovia, as many Monrovians lack the money or the electricity necessary for access to the conventionalmass media.
The most widely read newspapers include theLiberia Herald,The Analyst,Liberian Observer,The News,The Heritage, andThe Inquirer, among others. Several Liberian journalists have been awarded national and international awards and acclaim around the world for their commitment topress freedomand promotion of Democracy inpost warcountries and regions.
Liberia has its own ancient music and instruments. While Liberian music is part of widerWest Africanmusic heritage, it is also distinct from its neighbors. There are several different types of drums used in traditional music.Drumsare among the most widely used instruments in ceremonies both official and nonofficial, weddings, christenings, naming ceremonies, holidays, graduations, etc. Next to drums, beadedgourdrattles called Saasaa are also used in mainstream music by many Liberian singers, musicians, andensemblesacross the country.
Songs are sung in both English and all indigenous languages. Other instruments similar to thexylophoneinclude Yomo Gor. Music is a main highlight of Liberian culture not only used as entertainment but to educate society on issues ranging from culture, politics, history to human rights.
Religious musicis also popular.Christian musicis heavily influenced by its counterpart in the United States, regardless of region. Islamicnasheedspopular in many countries with Muslim communities are almost unheard of in Liberia. Instead, music for Liberian Muslims is based onQuraniccitations, adhan and music related to everyday life called suku. Aside from religious and traditional music,rapand Highlife are widely popular genres, especially with younger Liberians and American music aficionados, and can be heard in discothèques, parties, clubs and on radios throughout the country. Jazz, funk, soul, rap and a new music style or Liberian rap calledHipcocombining rap, R&B, traditional rhymes, and joint Liberian and American influences are part of the wider music of Liberia.
Liberia is renowned for its detailed decorative and ornate masks, large and miniaturewood carvingsof realistic human faces, famous people, scenes of everyday life, and accessories particularly combs, spoons, and forks which are often enlarged sculptures. Sculptures are produced in both the countryside and cities. Liberian wood curved sculptures are heavily influenced by ancient history predating modern Liberia, folklore, proverbs, spirituality, rural life and show the artist's strong observations for grand detail and their connections to the people and objects sculpted. Liberian artists both in the country anddiasporahave also gained recognition for various styles of paintings in abstract, perspective, andgraphic art.
Due to its strong relationship with the United States, Liberia has also produced its own American-influenced quilts. The American free people of color and former slaves who emigrated to Liberia brought with them their sewing and quilting skills and was originally done byAmerico-Liberiansbeginning in the 19th century.Queen VictoriainvitedMartha Ann Ricks, on behalf of Liberian AmbassadorEdward Wilmot Blyden, toWindsor Castleon 16 July 1892.
Ricks, a former slave fromTennessee, had saved for more than fifty years, to afford the voyage from Liberia to England to personally thank the Queen for theBritish navy'sactions against the slave trade. Ricks shook hands with the Queen and presented her with a Coffee Tree quilt, which Victoria later sent to the 1893World's Columbian Expositionfor display. A mystery remains as to where the quilt is today.
The census of 1843 indicated a variety of occupations, including hatter, milliner, seamstress, and tailor.Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. However, today, Liberians from all ethnic groups make quilts, although quilting is not as popular as it once was when the country was adapting American customs, culture, and lifestyle in the mid-19th century. In modern times, Liberian presidents would present quilts as official government gifts, and when current Liberian PresidentEllen Johnson Sirleafmoved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.
A literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. Liberia had no written tradition until the 19th century. Numerous Liberian authors throughout the years have contributed to the writings of various genres. They have written onfolk art, ancient proverbs, everyday life in countryside, city life, religion and observation of their own lives. Culture, tradition, identity, society, taboo subjects, human rights, equality and diversity within Liberia, multiculturalism,Pan-Africanism,colonialismand its reverberating consequences today, post-colonial African countries and future of the country have been featured in novels, books, magazines, and novelettes since the 19th century. The first novel by an African published in English was written by a Liberian,Joseph Jeffrey Walters, a Vai convert to Christianity studying atOberlin Collegein the United States. The book titledGuanya Pau: A Story of an African Princesswas published in 1891 by Lauer and Mattil of Cleveland, Ohio, and deals with the issue of child marriage and women's rights.
Poetry is a prominent canon of Liberian literature. Many authors have presented their pose in all poetic styles. Often adding their own unique perspectives, writing styles and observation of the material and spiritual worlds into their books. Liberia's prominent writers also share a variety of genres that cross several decades.
In the 19th century,Edward Wilmot Blydenwas the most renowned Liberian author. A diplomat, educator, statesman and writer, Blyden was considered one of the early fathers of Pan Africanism along withW. E. B. Du BoisandMarcus Garvey. His writings revolved around the need for Africans to develop their own identity, be culturally, spiritually and politically aware of their own potential and preside over their own self-rule and to disprove the European view of Africans as culture-less. These writings inspired many Liberian authors in later years and still do today. A national hero in Liberia, Blyden is known in world history and on the African continent as the genius behind the phrase "Africa for Africans!" and later inspired Marcus Garvey'sBack to AfricaMovement.
During the 20th century and in the first decade of the 21st century, other authors have taken a less political but prominent role in Liberian literature. Several authors are renowned for their detailed and deep observation of Liberian life both in the country and abroad in the Diaspora in Europe or United States. AuthorsBai T. Moore,E. G. Bailey,Roland T. Dempster,Wilton G. S. Sankawulo, have all reflected on Liberian culture, tradition, modernization and the pain of exile, loneliness, loss and remembrance in fiction, and non-fiction works.
Bai T. Moore's novellaMurder in the Cassava Patchis required reading for many Liberian high-school students. Published in 1968, the book is based on the true story of a murder, and explores the most taboo subjects in mid-20th-century Liberia as the story reveals the lives of the main characters and their hometown. E. G. Bailey is aspoken-wordartist, theatre and radio producer.
Politician and author Wilton G. S. Sankawulo published many collections of poems and stories that later became praised anthologies on Liberian folklore and wider African literary tradition, entitledMore Modern African Stories. His most celebrated book isSundown at Dawn: A Liberian Odyssey. According to the book's publisher, Dusty Spark Publishing, it is regarded as "one of the literary achievements of postwar Liberia and contemporary Africa."
Liberian cuisine hasriceas its staple. Other ingredients includecassava,fish,bananas,citrus fruit,plantains,coconut,okraandsweet potatoes.Heavystewsspiced withhabaneroandscotch bonnetchillies are popular and eaten withfufu.