7.2 Case study: religion's role in the liberian conflict  (Page 2/4)

Therefore, we begin by discussing one of the most important and significant religions in indigenous Liberia, Poro. Even though there are many different ethnic groups in Liberia, the Poro religious tradition spanned almost the entirety of the nation and unified it under the institution of this secret society. Lead by a secretive group of authoritative elders, Poro could, in theory, mobilize the entire population. Johnson This society and religion served as a stabilizing element who’s religious and social controls were conducive to maintaining political order. This tradition is an initiation, a sort of right of passage, which allows adolescents to enter into the world of adults. Initiations take place in forests-or the bush-where young initiates are scarred in distinctive patterns that are said to be the tooth marks of the feared Bush Devil. The boys may be gone for as many as four years, secluded in the bush where they are instructed in the ritual knowledge of their community and educated to think and act as men. During this process, initiates are taught the tremendous importance of secrecy, of courage and discipline, and of obedience. When the initiates return to their community, they return as young adults who have been ‘reborn’ in their new tradition; their old selves ‘died’ in the bush, eaten by the Bush Devil, the central spirit of the religion. Ellis 224 We can see a parallel here, with the Christian religion, in the sense that both religious traditions observe transformations that we may refer to as ‘rebirths’. Notice the use of religious language to shroud the ceremony in a veil of secrecy, mysticism and ultimate importance.

The Poro religion reaches beyond just the initiation ceremony and period and extends into the realms of law and ritual to dictate how members should live their lives. We see a merging of religious and social aspects in Poro; it becomes impossible to separate religion from the social and political order of the community. According to Poro ritual, power is morally ambiguous and is the source of both life and death. Levitt 206 On a side note, here we also see a conflict with Christianity because it offers a dualist view where good and evil are often absolute. Ellis 274 It is associated with the act of eating. Just as we saw in the initiation ceremony, Poro rituals often revolve around the act of eating because it too is an ambiguous activity because it is not only essential for life but it also implies the death of another being. Ibid, p. 231 Thus, sacrifice connects the acquisition of power to the process of destruction. This religious sacrifice would sometimes even extend to human sacrifice and cannibalism in an attempt to gain channels for communication with the spiritual world. Again, I must reiterate the vital and obvious connection between power acquisition and eating. These rituals were reserved for only the most elite of the Poro and were used only in dire circumstances. Masks were also ritual objects reserved for only the Poro elite. Once a mask was donned, the figure becomes the physical form of the spirits that the Poro tradition so feverishly worshiped. Masks were important objects for the continuity and stability of the community because their appearance was a physical constant; they were, in a sense, immortal. Levitt 220 Although it would be possible to continue discussing the Poro tradition, I will stop here. We have now touched upon what many consider to be the most significant issues in the Poro religious tradition. We are now able to begin a more detailed analysis of the role of religion in the Liberian conflict.