Liberian Proverbs

Proverb is a short popular saying, usually of unknown and ancient origin, that expresses effectively some commonplace truth or useful thought; an adage. In Africa, the say a proverb is like pepper… Source: Liberian Proverbs

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“Mandingos are Dirty; They take Bath in Tea Kettles”

As told by Mohammed Dukuly The Mandingo ethnic group is one of the 16 or 17 ethnic groups in Liberia. Most Mandingos in Liberia are Muslims. In fact in Liberia, many see Islam as a Mandingo religion and sometimes do not make the distinction between the religion Islam and the ethnic group Mandingo. In some…

Face-to-Face With Stereotypes

“You Can’t Eat GB With a Gio Man” After the war, Gios are given a very hard time-although many do not want to acknowledge this. There was a case where a very good Gio friend say Gono) invited some non-Gios to his house. Just as a test, he asked his friends to join him for…

“Krahn People are Fire Coal Eaters”

Palm butter is a staple Liberian dish. Liberians mainly from southeast, they say, will have no problem eating rice with palm butter all year round. [Oops, stereotype.] Sometimes when the palm nuts from which palm butter is prepared are rotten, Kru, Grebo or Krahn mothers have a way of adding some things to take away…

“Liberian People Don’t Scare Car; They Scare Rain”

By Dennis Jah The climate of Liberia in sub-Sahara Africa is warm and humid all year round. The two major seasons are the Rainy Season which runs from May to October with an average rainfall of 70 inches of rain and the Dry Season which runs from November to April. During the rain, many use…

Beginning The Discussion

By Dr. Amos Zumo A small disagreement can transform into a violent confrontation with surprising speed. Contributors to this escalation (transformation) include: stereotypes as well as emotions, polarization, enemy images which break down communication between parties and then build ideological walls which become impossible to bridge. These then become flashpoints ready to boil over at…

Stereotype Liberia

Dealing with stereotypes and biases in Liberia