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The Political Function of the Poro. Part I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2012

Kenneth Little
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Extract

One of the most interesting problems of pre-colonial history is the relation of so-called secret societies to indigenous government. In West Africa they are concerned mainly with the ownership and use of supposedly supernatural medicines and the propagation of certain cults.

These are the functions also of other associations, but what principally distinguishes secret societies from the ordinary medicine society or cult is the esoteric basis of their activities. Not only do the secret societies employ particular rituals, signs, symbols, and forms of knowledge which are withheld from non-initiates, but these things are regarded as a special source of power through being kept private. Associations of this kind are prevalent in southern Nigeria, and are particularly numerous in the coastal area of rain-forest in general, including the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and parts of Ghana and Portuguese Guinea. They are not secret in any other respect. On the contrary, not only is the existence and general purpose of these societies known to every grown-up person, but in many places the wide range of their activities makes them the dominant social force. They are frequently responsible for tribal education, regulate sexual conduct, supervise political and economic affairs, and operate various social services, including entertainment and recreation as well as medical treatment.

Résumé

LE RÔLE POLITIQUE DU PORO

Les modèles de la vie communautaire dans la ceinture côtière de forêt tropicale d'Afrique de l'Ouest sont déterminés par les activités de certaines associations qui, faute d'un meilleur terme, sont généralement nommées sociétés secrètes. L'un des cultes les plus influents, dont les origines remontent à l'antiquité, est le Poro. Décrit par un voyageur européen qui visita la Sierra Leone au début du 16ème siècle, il joua un rôle actif dans l'histoire coloniale de ce pays.

Les écoles d'initiation à la société du Poro, bien connues, sont un important moyen d'éducation tribale; elles dotent les jeunes gens du pays d'un fort sentiment de fidélité à l'association elle-même. Le résultat, étant donné que ces jeunes gens n'ont pas leur mot à dire dans les affaires du Poro, est de mettre une force bien disciplinée à la disposition des ‘leaders’ responsables de la société. Ces derniers comprennent les hommes qui ont atteint les plus hautes fonctions, ainsi que ceux qui jouissent de droits héréditaires. Les membres de ce ‘groupe interne’ personnifient par des masques de bois les esprits sacrés de la société, s'occupent de la médecine traditionnelle et jugent des cas importants dans un tribunal secret. Cependant, quoique les initiés du Poro puissent être aisément mobilisés pour une action concertée affectant de larges parts du territoire, il est peu probable que la société a possédé une administration centralisée ou un conseil suprême. Le travail courant était organisé, semble-t-il, sur la base de chapitres locaux ou loges, dont les chefs se maintenaient en contact les uns avec les autres de différentes façons.

La croyance populaire dans les puissances mystiques du Poro sanctionnait son intervention dans les affaires aussi bien économiques que politiques de la communauté; dans ces dernières, il semble que son organisation ait été fréquemment utilisée pour assurer la paix entre les partis en lutte, promulguer et appliquer les lois du royaume. Cependant, la nature exacte des relations entre la société du Poro et l'autorité séculière est difficile à déterminer. Elle semble avoir été variable suivant les conditions locales, la puissance militaire et le prestige des divers chefs. Ce problème complexe sera examiné dans la seconde partie de cet article.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , October 1965 , pp. 349 - 365
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1965

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References

page 349 note 1 I have to thank Professor Daryll Forde for a number of very helpful comments on my original draft of this article.

page 350 note 1 These excerpts from Fernandes and d'Almada are both taken from Fyfe's, ChristopherSierra Leone Inheritance, 1964, pp. 27, 32.Google Scholar

page 351 note 1 Ordinance no. 14 of 1897. To protect and safeguard the trade of the Colony of Sierra Leone and its Protectorate and those engaged and interested in the same.

page 354 note 1 Mary Kingsley, one hastens to add, is an exception to the rule. Not only did she regard the tribal secret societies as ‘admirable engines of government’ but she strenuously rebutted the notion of there being anything very repulsive about their rites and ceremonies (1901, pp. 448–9).

page 355 note 1 According to Schwab (op. cit.) masks served as Poro medicine among the Mano. A certain mask was always left outside the camp in which the boys were being initiated. See also p. 359, footnote.

page 356 note 1 For the distinction between Poro as a general institution and a ‘poro’ see p. 364.

page 356 note 2 Mary Kingsley adds that this Sande representative was not allowed to speak at these meetings, and was supposed to be invisible to all except the head of Poro. I am unable to vouch for this. It may just possibly be a misreading of the fact that women members of Poro (see later paragraphs) are regarded ritually as men.

page 356 note 3 This is a matter about which there is very much more material for the Liberian side of the Poro than exists for Sierra Leone. (See Harley, 1941, passim, and Schwab, 1947, pp. 266–78). Details of Sande and its organization have been omitted for the sake of brevity, but a description may be found inter alia in Little, 1951, pp. 126–30.

page 357 note 1 The term kassi implies a ritual sanction, and, according to Augustus Cole, it should only be used in connexion with Poro. Tying grass upon plants or fruit-trees, ‘with the notification that Poro is on it, makes the tree from that moment sacred, and picking fruit from it is to be guilty of the Purrah laws, or to buy Kasey’ (1866, pp. 49–53).

page 357 note 2 Augustus Cole says that there are three kinds of salutation. The first is given by scratching the palm of the hand of the stranger with the middle finger of the grip, the second, by kneeling, laying the right hand on the ground, and in this position moving round and nodding the head gracefully to all the members; the third is used by a person who, though not a member of Poro, belongs to a kindred society. Such a person coming in contact with Poro, quickly picks the leaves of a certain common herb. With these leaves in his right hand, which he places flat on the ground, he kneels, uttering words to the effect that Poro secrets will remain as sealed up in his heart as the leaves in his hand (Ibid.).

page 358 note 1 However, the extent to which the initiate's abrupt removal terrified him probably depended upon whether he appreciated that this experience, like his subsequent ordeal, was all part of the Poro ritual.

page 358 note 2 Vernon R. Dorjahn has provided a contemporary account of the initiation of Temne Poro officials (1961, pp. 1–5).

page 359 note 1 There are a number of references to the Poro ‘inner circle’ in the literature, but Harley is the only author to attempt a detailed treatment of this complex but still obscure matter (1941 and 1950). Harley came to doubt if the pinnacle of power, represented by the inner circle, was within the Poro. He suggests that it was within the cult of the masks of which the Poro was the most highly developed form for manifesting the power of the ancestors toward the people (1950, vii).

page 363 note 1 Many lodges use a tortoise-shell for calling Poro together. Any Poro man, hearing the sound of the tortoise-shell being beaten, has to go at once and attend the meeting (Warren, 1926).

page 364 note 1 A town in middle Mende country well known as a warlike centre in pre-colonial times.