Institute of Languages and Cultural Studies

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Author: search.filters.author.Thulla, Philip Foday YambaStart date: 2020

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    Popular public perception of witchcraft practices, witchcraft wealth, recruitment and herbalism in Bo City Southern Sierra Leone
    (2022-11-03) Thulla, Philip Foday Yamba
    The study examined popular public perception and witchcraft practices in Bo City in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. Specifically, public perception regarding the principles of witchcraft practices, witchcraft wealth, recruitment/initiation process and inheritance were examined. Exploratory and anthropological research designs were used. Through a structured questionnaire, data were collected from a sample of 150 participants involving 50 individuals each from the three main ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; Mende, Temne and Limba. The researchers first got close to community members from an emic perspective, then held discussions and interviews in the communities based on age, status, gender, and other factors that reflected the differences within the various communities. The findings revealed that the majority (76%) agreed that witchcraft can be acquired through family lineage, with 60% of such recruitment initiated by stepmothers/fathers 62%, and that 66% of respondents agreed that herbalists primarily draw from witchcraft practices to cure sick people. It was concluded that witchcraft recruitment mainly occurs within families and that herbalists primarily draw from witchcraft practices to cure sick people in Bo City.
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    Folk media: Existence, forms, uses and challenges in Mende indigenous communities of Southern Sierra Leone
    (2022-09-16) Thulla, Philip Foday Yamba
    The study examined the folk media: existence, forms, uses and challenges in the Mende indigenous communities of Southern Sierra Leone. A mixed methods research design of 120 participants was developed, selected from 3 communities with 40 participants in each community. The mixed approach used both quantitative and qualitative research designs in the study. The interviews were initially conducted using interview questions related to the existence of folk media, its use and the challenges it faced in the study area. Three focus group discussions were held in 3 communities, randomly selected on the outskirts of the Southern part of Sierra Leone. A quantitative research approach helped analyse simple statistical data collected by the researchers. The findings revealed that folk media exist in the Mende communities studied; and that the use of Mende folk media is fraught with major challenges. The findings also revealed that the use of Mende folk media is rare in indigenous Mende communities which is a major challenge in preserving the practices and their uses in the selected communities. The findings also showed that Mende folk media play an important role in disseminating social, religious, and cultural information, including being used in ceremonies such, as litigation, court hearings, singing and storytelling sessions, naming, weddings and political campaigns, and funerals. The findings also revealed that traditional Mende media are mainly used by the nominees of Paramount Chiefs, the community griots, the heads of the tribal and secret societies and volunteers.