The mask of anarchy
Subtitle: the destruction of Liberia and the religious dimension of an African civil war
By: Stephen Ellis.
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 350
Subjects: Poro (Society); Sande Society; Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1989- -- Causes; Liberia -- History -- Civil War, 1989- -- Religious aspects; Liberia -- Religion
Description: "The Liberian civil war generated some of the most frightening news images of the recent past: camera crews and photographers recorded striking pictures of teenage boys, high on drugs, firing machine guns while dressed in masks or women's clothes. Men of the infamous "Butt Naked Brigade" fought street battles without the benefit of clothing.

There were so many cases of gunmen eating their victims' hearts and other body parts that the Catholic Church had to issue a formal denunciation of the practice."--BOOK JACKET.

"The Mask of Anarchy tells the story of the war, and explains why it unfolded in such dramatic fashion. The keys to understanding the fighters' behavior are to be found among the religious and cultural repertoires that once formed the core of rural Liberian life but which became deformed and abused in over a century of foreign settlement."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 321-338) and index.