PHOTO: Flashback, traditional leaders when they met to sign MOU
By Our Reporter
Some Liberian citizens in western Grand Cape Mount County have opposed the one-year suspension on traditional practices carried out by the “Sande” and “Poro” across the country, terming it as an affront.
The reaction from people in Cape Mount came after a Memorandum of Understanding signed recently by traditional leaders in Bong County and the Internal Affairs Ministry, putting a halt to activities of the “Sande” and “Poro” societies for a year in Liberia’s fifteen counties.
The citizens in Cape Mount were speaking recently during a talk show on a local community radio station in this area.
The Liberian traditional leaders gave several reasons for the year-long ban.
“Sometimes, Poro members will put their “country devil” out in broad day light, thus obstructing free movement of ordinary people, who are non members of either societies,” said Chief Peter Barlon of Nimba County. “People have been forced to join the bush school, something that often infringed on the rights of those who are not members,” they said.
“Country devil” (not really referring to the mask dancers), and other traditional practices involving the Poro and Sande societies have become frequent in recent months, where ordinary non-members are conscripted to join, against their will,” they added in their reasons for the year-long ban.
But some citizens in
Cape Mount said, if the CDC government did not come to help them, they should
not harm them, because it is their cultural and traditional practices which
they inherited from their forefathers.
They are demanding that traditional leaders, who
attended the conference recently in Gbarnga, Bong County that led to the MOU on
suspending traditional practices for one year, must provide more clarity on
their decision.
Some of the citizens told the local radio in the
town of Sinje, that while government cannot put a ban on the Western secret society,
UBF and Free Masons, it must not do same to the Sende and Poro societies.
Meanwhile, the citizens in Cape Mount if the
one-year ban on the traditional societies should remain, the national
government should also put an immediate stop to the functioning of Internal Affairs
and department of Culture at the Ministry of Information for one year, “since
our cultural heritage is useless”.