Major Tribes and Ethnic Groups in Sierra Leone
There is a total of 16 ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. The largest of these is the Mende in the southern and eastern provinces. The second largest of these is the Temne located in the north, followed by the Limba which is also in the north, and then Kono which is in the east.
The term Mende refers to both the people and the language. This ethnic group accounts for one-third of the population in Sierra Leone. Within Mende, three major dialect groups are distinguished: Kpa-Mende in the west, Sewa-Mende in the center, and Ko-Mende in the east.
Temne also refers to both the people and the language. The Temne population is about 1.6 million who are mostly farmers with the staple crop being rice. The Temne are divided into numerous independent chiefdoms, each being governed by it's own paramount chief.
The Limba are the third largest group, accounting for about 8.5% of the population which is about 566 thousand. During Sierra Leone's colonial era, thousands of Limba migrated to Freetown, as a result many Limba's can still be found there.
The Kono are about 7.6% of the population, or 490 thousand. These people are primarily diamond miners due to the fact that the Kono district is very diamond rich. Many of the youth from this district speak Krio as the primary language to communicate with other ethnic groups. Most Kono do not travel outside eastern Sierra Leone, as a result very few are found in the capital Free town.
Divisions by Ethnic Group
Your information about the Kono actually helped me learn something that I did not include in my section! I should have included the population, but it slipped my mind.
ReplyDeleteHow many diamonds does Kono bring out per month? Does it say anywhere? I know with my topic trying to find credible facts were hard
ReplyDeletei understand a little more now
ReplyDeleteThats a lot of tribes to try and keep straight. The majority of the Mende tribe in southern and eastern provinces were a part of the RUF.
ReplyDeleteWow. I liked the map and how it showed all the different territories of the tribes.
ReplyDeleteThe format is excellent. I love how each tribe is explained in short and sweet bursts of information. Very cool. The map is also a good idea. Now I know where Ishmael is from geographically.
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