7.2 Case study: religion's role in the liberian conflict  (Page 3/4)

Now that we have explored the basics of the Poro religious tradition, there are two specific things that must be emphasized to the reader as they carry significance for the conflict. First, we must notice the secrecy of the tradition. We must qualify this notion of secrecy, it is imperative to note that although the want for secrecy concerning the rituals inside the Poro tradition is of great importance, the Poro religious tradition itself is not secret. Instead, almost everyone in the Liberian population is aware of the society; it is specifically the rituals and traditions of the elite and elders that must be protected. As we shall see later in the paper, once the practices of the elite are no longer protected, the entire system becomes extraordinarily vulnerable. The next and arguably more important point that must be stressed is the figurative and literal interpretations of the metaphor of eating in the Poro tradition. We see this first literally in the initiation ceremony of the tradition when the boys are scarred with the teeth marks of the Bush Devil, and then figuratively through “idiom of eating” in Poro, reflected in sayings such as ‘Poro business is eating business’ or ‘Poro is in the stomach’”. Ellis 224 This metaphor of eating and sacrifice is hugely important because it carries great weight in the search and acquisition of power in Liberia as we will discuss next.

The attainment and maintenance of power in the secret society is achieved through the incorporation, literally and figuratively, of other people. Ibid, p. 258 Power, whether personal or political, good or evil, is facilitated through human sacrifice. It is widely believed that success is secured by killing another being. The African meaning of eating is much closer to that of the English words hunger or appetite; the African metaphor of eating, therefore, is used to symbolize power and its accumulation. This eating, whether figurative or literal, allowed the elite to gain power and control over a community, which in turn helped to produce a stable and unified town. The practice of human sacrifice was therefore reserved for those who were deemed responsible and was considered sacred. Human sacrifice was, then, a way in which men gained power, explained their success, and how they sustained it. In this way sacrifice and murder legitimated political power. However, although leaders murdered, they did so for the spiritual powers that enabled them to better the community, not for personal gain. This system seemed to work and seemed to have a powerful hold over the Liberian hinterland until politicians became seduced by Poro’s mysticism and its promised power. They found that secret society membership was another way to add to their political arsenal, and began to use Poro’s rituals and traditions accordingly. Ritual knowledge became less important then getting rid of one’s enemies. Politicians no longer respected Poro’s laws and rituals; they no longer studied for years as the other members of Poro did, they began instead to use the fast and accepted method of killing a relative for acceptance into the society. Ibid, p.249 It is here that we begin to see the corruption and misuse of traditional religions for an attempt at gaining ultimate power.