User:Arkpear12/Sande society

Sequestration and female circumcision
Adolescent girls are initiated as a group during the post-harvest dry season in a specially cleared area of forest surrounding the town or village. The initiation period varies from several weeks to several months, depending upon such factors as the initiate's age, lineage membership, school attendance, and ethnicity.

In the past, the girls are said to have remained in the forest for upwards of one year, during which time they made rice farms for the Sande leadership. In addition to the initiate's labor, Sande leaders receive a substantial initiation fee from the girl's father or her prospective husband, as a girl may not marry before initiation.

According to Carol MacCormack:

"Shortly after entering the Bundu bush, girls experience the surgery distinctive of a Bundu woman in which the clitoris and part of the labia are excised. It is a woman, the Majo (Mende), or head of a localized Bundu chapter, who usually performs this surgery. [A] Bundu woman told me that excision helps women to become prolific bearers of children. A Majo reputed 'to have a good hand' will attract many initiates to her Bundu bush, increasing her social influence in the process. Informants also said the surgery made women clean."

'Sande membership and initiation practices are promoted by zoes'', who are typically elderly women who lead the Sande bush. Undergoing initiation processes and FGM is necessary in order for women to gain respect within Sande society. The primary purpose of the FGM procedure is to remove the sexual desire and promiscuity of women, thereby making them suitable for marriage. '''

'When the Sande ‘bush’ period arrives, girls are retained in a secret, ‘special place.’ On the day to perform female genital mutilation (FGM), girls are first asked to ‘numb the area’'' by sitting in a bucket of water. Then, they are each tied down with their hands and legs separated. The zoe will then perform the ‘procedure’ without any anesthesia. Although zoes have used ‘ritual knives’ in the past, zoes now use unsterilized razor blades or surgical blades. '''

'Zoes'' use local herbs to stop the bleeding. However, in the instance where these herbs fail, there is a risk for death from a hemorrhage. Due to the remote and discrete nature of the bush, it is very unlikely that zoes will take girls to a nearby clinic if complications arise. Additionally, the unsterilized instruments also pose a risk for local infection, sepsis, and even death. '''

Many women who survive the "surgery" will have lifelong complications. Not only are the genitalia disfigured, multiple lacerations are made in the skin so that large scars will mark the initiate for life.

Post-initiation education
Sande society initiates, Sierra Leone. To either side of the girls stand masked women wearing "devil masks", who are in charge of the initiation.

After their wounds have healed, the girls are instructed in domestic skills, farming, sexual matters, dancing, and medicine. Specialized skills such as dyeing cloth may be taught to girls who demonstrate special aptitude or, according to some sources, to girls from high-ranking landowning lineages. But at least one anthropologist has suggested that the girls "learn little more than they already knew before they entered the bush ... or than they would learn at that stage of their lives if they did not become secret society members."

In this view, the girls' training is more symbolic than utilitarian, for the essential lessons learned are deference to authority and an absolute respect for secrecy. 'The ‘secret’ is enforced by an ‘oath’, and they are told the price for revealing what happened in the ‘bush’'' is death to either them or a member of their family. The fear instilled by the zoes make FGM a prohibitied conversation topic to discuss with non-members, and open conversation around it could be interpreted as questioning the legitimacy of Sande and its moral teachings. ''' Much of the learning is to ensure that initiates understand the cultural norms of Sande society. As another source suggests that "the emphasis is not on learning new skills so much as on learning new attitudes toward their work. Instead of doing this work in the role of a daughter, they begin to anticipate the role of wife who must work cooperatively with her co-wives and her husband's female kin."

Bonding
MacCormack notes that the shared experience of a lengthy stay in the forest and the risk of the surgery binds the girls together as a cohesive social group. But:

"There are pleasures to be enjoyed as well as ordeals, and the girls go gladly into the initiation grove. Food is plentiful since the initiation season occurs in the post-harvest dry season and each girl's family is obliged to send large quantities of rather special food into the initiation grove on her behalf. There are also special Bundu songs, dances and stories to be enjoyed around the fire in the evening. The stories usually end with an instructive moral linked to Bundu laws given to the living by ancestresses of the secret society."

'''As a result of this bonding process, women continue to participate in Sande society throughout their lives and will carry down the traditions to their daughters. '''

Return to the community
Sande society initiates, Sierra Leone.

At the conclusion of their initiation the girls are ritually washed and returned to the community as marriageable adults. They emerge from the forest dressed in their finest clothes, with new names signifying their newly achieved adult status and their persona (i.e. rank) in the association's ritual hierarchy. In some areas, cicatrization in the form of teeth support the view (held by the uninitiated) that the girls were devoured by a forest spirit that has now returned them to society; although death and rebirth imagery is not a universal feature of Sande initiation.

J.D.Y. Peel describes:

'''“The 32 new initiates sit in a long row on mats, an open space in front of them, with spectators crowded around. They’re all dressed in white cotton dresses and head-veils - in fact looking very much like confirmation candidates - but their faces are also rubbed with white chalk, and each girl wears a tassled white woollen necklace, which protects her from harm. In age they range from children of 4-5 right up to young women in their early 20s. At first they sing choruses together, accompanied by vigorous clapping, under the motherly attention of Ma Miatta and the sterner direction of Pa Kende, the senior dazoe or Poro elder, who walks up and down in front of them with a little switch. [...] Then the initiates take it in turn, in ones or twos, to come out and perform a little dance, accompanied by choruses from the rest.” '''

'''Later, the mood shifts into a graduation ceremony where each proud initiate stands with her family and friends, donning an outfit signifying she will never need to be initiated again. The next day, the girls model self-control by sitting still while others celebrate their achievement. The men express their interest in the initiated girls as future brides and celebrate their virtues of virginity and faithfulness. '''

'''Within Sande society, these new initiates hold the lowest status, but will gain status as they grow older. Hierarchy within Sande is based on both secrecy and age, and older members tend to have more secret knowledge than younger members. As these girls further immerse themselves into society and gain valuable skills, such as midwiving and medicinal work, they are made more valuable in the community. '''

Symbolic meaning
According to Jedrej (1986), the Sande initiation ritual centers on several sets of spatial and temporal oppositions, such as those between village (public) and forest (secret) space, on the one hand, and ancestral time (sacred) and the present-day (profane) on the other. The initiate's moral transformation from child to adult occurs in three stages (novice > virgin > bride) marked by public scarification, skin removal, and/or body piercings in the town or village. A key symbol of these performances is the initiate's metaphorical movement through water, the realm of the ancestors.

Unique masking traditions in Liberia
See full article: Mende masquerades

Women generally do not wear masks in western Africa, but in this region the most numerous and most important wood masks are produced for use by women for the Sande. Several types of masks, some in wood but many made of leather, fur, and cloth, are used in conjunction with the counterpart male initiation society, the Poro. The masks used in these societies have common iconographic features throughout the region, but each mask is known by an individual person name corresponding to the spiritual force believed to be associated with the local Poro or Sande society chapters.

Iconography of the Mende/Vai helmet mask
Helmet mask (ndoli jowei) for Sande society; late 19th-early 20th century; wood; 39.4 x 23.5 x 26 cm (151⁄2 x 91⁄4 x 101⁄4 in.); Brooklyn Museum (New York City). A vertical crack runs from base of mask to head band at back center and includes a triangular 13⁄4 hole below band

This type of mask, also often called bundu, is worn at initiation ceremonies celebrating a successful transition into womanhood. In Mende society "the term sowo refers to both the supernatural entity which represents the women's secret society, and the masked dancer whose polished black anthropomorphic helmet mask and black raphia-covered body the spirit invests with its presence and power."

In addition to the mask's appearance at girls' initiation ceremonies, sowo also "appears in public to mark important civic events such as the visits of important dignitaries and the coronations and funerals of important chiefs. On these occasions, her presence is a means of impressing on the community the unity and strength of the female corporate body as well as Sande's political significance."

According to Dubinskas, the Mende say a finely carved sowo mask is nyande ("good," "pretty," "beautiful" and aesthetically "pleasing") when it includes the following elements, each of which has a symbolic meaning:


 * Full forehead: wisdom, intelligence
 * Somnolent, downcast eyes: modesty
 * Shining black color: mystery
 * Neck rings: health and prosperity (as well as the mask's mythic rise out of the water)
 * Birds: messengers between spirits and humans
 * Cowries: wealth
 * White cloth: ritual purity
 * Fish, snakes, tortoises: the riverine home of sowo
 * Antelope horns and lasimo (scripture): 'good medicine' (hale nyande)
 * Three-legged cooking pot: represents sowo as a repository of women's knowledge, and as a symbol of domesticity

In addition, the mask's eyes should be slightly oversized (indicating knowledge and wisdom), while the mask's nose and mouth should be slightly smaller than human-sized (for a discussion of Mende feminine beauty).

Dubinskas writes that the mask represents the ideals of womanhood and the ideal image of feminine beauty, an everywoman versus a woman of extraordinary power, desired by all but attained by an elite few. As such, the mask "embodies and mediates contradictions between traditional feminine role models in the society and the actual political and economic power which women do have access to, if not consistently, then at least regularly and generally enough for that power to call forth a significant symbolic focus in the ideological realm."

Alternating roles of the Sande and Poro societies
Throughout this region, the complementarity of men's and women's gender roles – evident in such diverse activities as farming, cloth production, and musical performances – reach full expression. The women's Sande and men's Poro associations alternate political and ritual control of "the land" (a concept embracing the natural and supernatural worlds) for periods of three and four years respectively. During Sande's sovereignty, all signs of the men's society are banished.

At the end of this three-year period, the Sande leadership "turns over the land" to its counterparts in the Poro Society for another four years, and after a rest period the ritual cycle begins anew. The alternating three- and four-year initiation cycles for women and men respectively are one example of the widespread use of the numbers three and four to signify the gender of people, places and events; together the numbers equal seven, a sacred number throughout the region.

'''Due to these cultural apparatuses, women are regarded as valued and essential community leaders. Although men and women are not regarded as being complete “equals,” Sande society holds a large sway over the community and zoes play an integral role in community conflict resolution. As a result, rape and sexual crimes are not tolerated within these secret societies. Additionally, Sande and Poro societies work together to ensure that secretive rituals continue. While women appear to lead FGM practices, men also play important poltical roles to maintain its respect in the community. '''

'''Both the Poro and Sande societies have sacred and secret forest areas surrounding the village where they conduct their initiation ceremonies. Trespassers are severely punished if they enter, and there is an eight to ten feet fence marking their entrance. '''

Political and economic sway of Sande society in Liberia
'''Sande society plays a significant political, social, educational, and economic role in Liberia. The practices of Sande, including its initiation rituals, have been documented since the XVIIth Century. National data suggests the ubiquitous nature of Sande societies in Liberia, as FGM is still practiced by 13 of the 16 tribes, by both Muslim and Christian communities, and by about 70% of women in the North-Central and North-Western regions. As a result of Sande society’s incredible influence over many rural communities in Liberia, being initiated into the society is necessary to attain influence and power on a local level. Families who choose to opt out of the Sande or Poro societies in areas where it’s practiced are treated as social outcasts and moral sinners, and are not able to take part in any village decision-making. '''

'Zoes'', in particular, reap large economic benefits from their leadership role in Sande society. The ‘bush’ schools charge large fees and zoes have decreased their length in order to increase turnover. Due to these high costs, parents frequently have to choose between sending their children to ‘bush’ school or village schools. Additionally, if parents fail to pay the zoes’ fees, their children may not be permitted to return from ‘bush’ school. Because zoes control the labor and services to girls in the village, they also extract fees for their spiritual support or assistance during pregnancy and childbirth. Being a zoe has always come with great respect and economic reward. During the slave trade, for example, zoes used ‘bush’ schools as a way of obtaining women to sell to Europeans, and kept the profits for themselves. '''

Throughout Liberia, Sande and Poro societies hold unique political influence, and politicians themselves are often deeply entwined in the societies.

According to Veronika Fuest:

'''"The societies had been protected by official regulations since 1924, and successive presidents sought and received initiation into the men's society. Not only did the government's Department of the Interior, and later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs assume the task of regulating the Poro and Sande societies nationwide, they also protected them against local contestation, for example by Christians threatening to expose their secrets." '''

'''After the Liberian Civil War ended in 2003, the government placed a central focus on supporting cultural traditions, such as Sande and Poro societies, and courting their leaders during election campaigns. Since zoes hold such considerable local power and influence, politicians frequently use them to win rural support and legitimacy. Sande and Poro leaders head the National Council of Chiefs and Elders (NCCE), the representative body of traditional authorities in Liberia, and play an advisory role to internal affairs throughout the country, as well as to the state government itself. Minister of internal affairs, Dr. Henrique Tokpah, like many Liberian politicians, promised to continue to work with all traditional chiefs and zoes in Liberia and to protect their customs. '''

'''At the heart of the debate surrounding these traditions is the issue of FGM. Momo Kiazolu, chairman of the country's tribal chiefs, emphasized that "it's important for Liberia that [FGM] should continue because that's our culture. Maybe people say it's harmful and don't know what they're talking about." '''

'''As a result of Sande society’s integral role in local national level politics, legislation that has tried to limit FGM practices in LIberia have been largely ineffective. In 2012, for example, the government of Liberia announced that it had suspended licences for Sande leaders, but FGM continued at the same rate despite this measure. Additionally, in 2016 when a domestic violence bill was proposed with a clause banning FGM, zoes used theire sway in rural communities to ensure that it was taken off the bill. In 2018, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf signed Executive Order 92, temporarily banning FGM for the span of a single year. However, this bill was severely limited in its scope and only covered girls below the age of 18 and held lenient penalties for perpetrators. Resultantly, it did little to reduce FGM practices throughout the country. Due to the political influence zoes hold on over two-thirds of the Liberian population, no law actually threatening the power of Sande can be approved at a national level. '''

'Sande rule is so widely respected in Liberia that local law enforcement and politicians often have to adhere to traditional laws before the official justice system if the zoes'' get involved. When it comes to legal issues, such as forceful initiations taking place, law enforcement tends to yield to the will of the zoes and the victims have limited methods in which to seek justice. According to a Liberian lawyer, "there is nothing the law can do" when a customary law such as FGM has been violated.” '''

Criticisms of Sande society
'''Internationally, Sande society has come under wide scrutiny. The main criticisms are its negative effects of girls’ enrollment in local schools, its practicing of FGM, its lack of an age limit for intiation, and its recurrent cases of coerced intiation of non-members. '''

'''In 2011, a Ministry of Gender and Development/UNFPA study found that being involved in Sande increased girls’ likelihood of dropping out of school. The reasons for this are multifaceted, but are largely due to the fact that parents prioritize Sande initiation fees over school fees and often can’t afford to pay both, and when ‘bush’ school is held during the school year, many girls have to pull out of classes for several weeks and frequently don’t return. Mothers describe how the costs of initiation, such as feeding, transportation, mediation, and other fees, make it impossible for them to send their girls to school as well. '''

'''The issue of FGM is also of grave concern to the international community. The dangers that this practice poses to women’s health and freedom are of serious concern to many feminist activists. Additionally, concern has been raised over the age of consent for initiation into Sande societies. Girls as young as two have been sent into ‘bush’ school. '''

'''Lastly, there are recurrent cases of forced Sande initiation of non-members that routinely go unpunished. Sande society has a rule that anyone that steps onto their land has to abide by their rules. As a result, strangers who are unaware of traditional customs are frequently forcibly kidnapped and initiated. In each of these cases, FGM is used a pushishment for any perceived wrongdoing against Sande members. '''

For example, J.D.Y. Peel describes the case of Mary:

'''“Mary, a young Kpelle woman, moved to Sinie a few months ago to join her husband, a young man who’s an unqualified teacher at the village school, by whom she has a baby. The Sande women say she broke one of their “laws” by going on a forbidden path and so catching sight of the initiates when they went to bathe in the bush at the back of bondo. Mary says this was done inadvertently, since as a stranger she didn’t know. They insist that she must either accept the initiation or pay a fine of L$5,500 (about US$78). She just doesn’t have the money, and when she manages to save it she wants to use it to complete high school. So she feels she has no option but to reluctantly join Sande.” '''

'''Additionally, in 2021, a case made national headlines because Sande kidnapped five girls and forcefully initiated them due to allegations of public disturbances and the usage of obscene language on sacred land. '''

Violence against Liberian activists and journalists
'''Across Liberia, conversations around FGM are almost taboo, and those who publicly speak out against Sande society are often putting themselves in danger. Equality Now’s Uwizeye describes how “campaigners have received death threats and some have even had their houses burnt down because of their work. Even journalists have been threatened and some have actually stopped talking on FGM. Some have gone into hiding.” Notably,''' journalist Mae Azango received death threats from several Sande society women for reporting on Sande female circumcision practices in 2012.

'''FGM is such a volatile topic of conversation in Liberia that even international aid organizations refuse to speak publicly about their work. According to the director of a Liberian aid group, "this is a very sensitive issue, and we need to make sure we are respecting the security and safety of our staff and partners.” '''