Culture of Liberia
Encyclopedia
The culture of Liberia reflects this nation's diverse ethnicities and long history. Liberia
is located in West Africa on the Atlantic Coast
.
rattles called Saassaa are also used in mainstream music by many Liberian singers, musicians and ensembles
across the country. Songs are sung in both English and all indigenous languages. Other instruments similar to the xylophone
include Yomo Gor. Music is a main highlight of Liberian culture not only used as entertainment but to educate society on issues ranging from culture, politics, history to human rights.
Religious music is also popular. Christian music
is heavily influenced by its counterpart in United States regardless of region. Islamic nasheeds popular in many countries with Muslim communities are almost unheard of in Liberia. Instead, music for Liberian Muslims are based on Quranic citations, adhan and music related to everyday life called suku. Aside from religious and traditional music, rap
and HiLife are widely popular especially with younger Liberians and American music aficionados. Both can be heard in discothèques, parties, clubs and on radios throughout the country. Jazz, funk, soul, rap and a new music style or Liberian rap called Hipco combining rap, R&B, traditional rhymes, and joint Liberian and American influences are part of the wider Music of Liberia.
Liberia is renowned for its detailed decorative and ornate masks, large and miniature wood carvings of realistic human faces, people, scenes of everyday life and accessories particularly combs, spoons and forks which are often enlarged sculptures. Sculptures are produced in both the countryside and cities. Liberian wood curved sculptures are heavily influenced by ancient history predating modern Liberia, folklore, proverbs, spirituality, rural life and show the artist's strong observations for grand detail and their connections to the people and objects sculpted. Liberian artists both in the country and diaspora
have also gained recognition for various styles of paintings in abstract, perspective and graphic art.
Due to its strong relationship with the United States
, Liberia has also produced its own American influenced quilts. The free and former US slaves who emigrated to Liberia brought with them their sewing and quilting skills and was originally done by Americo-Liberians beginning in the 19th century. Queen Victoria invited Martha Ann Ricks, on behalf of Liberian Ambassador Edward Wilmot Blyden
, to Windsor Castle
on 16 July 1892. Ricks, a former slave from Tennessee
, had saved for more than fifty years, to afford the voyage from Liberia to England to personally thank the Queen for the British navy's
actions against the slave trade. Ricks shook hands with the Queen and presented her with a Coffee Tree quilt, which Victoria later sent to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
for display. A mystery remains as to where the quilt is today.
The census of 1843 indicated a variety of occupations, including hatter, milliner, seamstress and tailor. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. However today, Liberians from all ethnic groups make quilts though it is not a popular as it once was when the country was adapting American customs, culture and lifestyle in mid 19th century. In modern times, Liberian presidents would present quilts as official government gifts, and when current Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.
, ancient proverb
s, everyday life in countryside, city life, religion
and observation of their own lives. Culture, tradition, identity, society, taboo subjects, human rights, equality and diversity within Liberia, multiculturalism, Pan-Africanism
, colonialism
and its reverberating consequences today, post colonial African countries and future of the country have been featured in novels, books, magazines and novelettes since the 19th century.
Poetry is a prominent canon of Liberian literature. Many authors have presented their pose in all poetic styles. Often adding their own unique perspectives, writing styles and observation of the material and spiritual worlds into their books. Liberia's prominent writers also share a variety of genres that cross several decades.
In the 19th century Edward Wilmot Blyden
was the most renowned Liberian author. A diplomat, educator, statesman and writer, Blyden was considered one of the early fathers of Pan Africanism along with W.E.B. Du Bois
and Marcus Garvy. His writings revolved around the need for Africans to develop their own identity, be culturally, spiritually and politically aware of their own potential and preside over their own self rule and to disprove the European view of Africans as culture-less. These writings inspired many Liberian authors in later years and still does today. In the end, he is known in world history and on African continent as the genius behind the phrase, "Africa for Africans!" and later inspired Marcus Garvey's Back to Africa Movement. Blyden is a national hero in Liberia.
During the 20th century and currently in first decade of the 21st century, other authors have taken a less political but prominent role in Liberian literature. Several authors are renowned for their starling, detailed and deep observation of Liberian life both in the country and abroad in Diaspora in Europe or United States. Authors Bai T. Moore
, e. g. bailey, Roland T. Dempster, Wilton G. S. Sankawulo
, have all reflected on culture, tradition, modernization and pain of exile, loneliness, lost and remembrance in fiction and non fiction works. Bai T. Moore's novelette Murder in the Cassava Patch
, is often required reading for many Liberian high school students. Published in 1968, the novelette is based on true story of a murder that discusses the most taboo subjects in mid-20th century Liberia as the story reveals the lives of the main characters and their hometown. E.G. Bailey is a spoken word
artist, theatre and radio producer. Politician and author Wilton G. S. Sankawulo published many collections of poems and stories which later became praised anthologies on Liberian folklore and wider African literary tradition entitled, More Modern African stories. His most celebrated book is Sundown at Dawn: A Liberian Odyssey. According to book's publisher, Dusty Spark Publishing it is regarded as "one of the literary achievement of postwar Liberia and contemporary Africa."
is by far the most important staple of Liberian cuisine, though pasta
is gaining importance due to high rice costs (Thai Fragrant rice is deemed the best to eat and is imported). However, as a primarily agrarian culture Liberia does produce cassava
, banana
s, citrus fruit, plantain
s and coconut
. Sweet potatoes are also an important part of Liberian cuisine and are eaten along with yam
s, cocoyam
, plantains, mango
s, pineapple
s and various sorts of nuts and peanut
s. Fish is commonly eaten but meat is used more as a flavouring for dishes (along with dried and smoked fish). Stew
s (known as 'soups') are the most common dishes and are typically flavoured with fiery hot habanero and scotch bonnet
chillies (called 'hot peppers'). Liberian cuisine is also atypical of West African cookery as a whole as the country has a tradition of baking
.
. There are also more than 20 indigenous languages, a few of which have their own unique alphabets. Among the most widely studied Liberian languages in schools and universities are Bassa
and Vai
languages and to a lesser extent, Kpelle
. Loma
and Mende
also have their own unique alphabets but are studied less. Both languages are noted for their unique alphabets and phonetics that are not based on the Latin alphabet
or any European language but emerged from visions of each language's inventor. Bassa alphabet
was popularized by Dr. Thomas Narvin Lewis in the early 20th century after attending studies in the U.S at Syracuse University
. He modeled it after he came into contact with former slaves of Bassa origin in Brazil and the West Indies who were still using the alphabet. Vai is another well known ancient script from Liberia but distinct from the Bassa alphabet.
Among the listed alphabets Bassa Vah is compared to include Armenian
, Coptic
(used by Egyptian Coptics and Coptic Church), Avestan used in Ancient Persia to write sacred hymns of Zoroastrianism
, Georgian language
in Republic of Georgia, Mongolian
, Meroitic alphabet of ancient Sudan
and parts of Nile Valley and many other ancient scripts, Greek based and Cyrillic alphabets. Some Vah letters resemble certain letters from Ge'ez alphabet of Ethiopia
used to write Amharic, the national language, N'ko
alphabet in Guinea
and Armenian alphabet
. The syllabary of Vai also been compared to Hiragana
and Katakana
scripts also syllabaries for Japanese language
. However many linguists hold that Bassa and Vai alphabets are unique in their own right for being African languages with alphabets alongside Ge'ez, N'ko
and Tifinagh
(used to write Berber languages) that are neither influenced by Latin or Western writing system
.
along with several major national newspapers. Many radio stations are community based operated by join UN and community councils, activists, youth groups, universities and neighborhood programs. The major radio stations in Liberia are UNMIL Radio, Radio ELWA, Truth Radio, ELBC Radio and STAR radio
. All have available to listen to programs online. There are currently no AM radio stations (which existed before the war) but there are a few shortwave stations. Radio also serves to promote peace, reconciliation and connect the country both rural and urban Liberians through community based apprenticeship programs for youths and young adults.
Among the most famous newspaper in Monrovia known outside Liberia is The Daily Talk
, a newspaper that has all the functions of any major newspaper but is written on a blackboard. The Daily Talk is accessible to any Monrovian and any Liberian for free. Various national newspapers can also be found online and in Liberia. The most widely read newspapers include the Liberia Herald
, The Analyst, Liberian Observer, The News, The Heritage, and The Inquirer, among others. Several Liberian journalists have been awarded national and international awards and acclaim around the world for their commitment to press freedom and promotion of Democracy in post war countries and regions.
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
is located in West Africa on the Atlantic Coast
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
Music
Liberia has its own ancient music and instruments. While Liberian music is part of wider West African music heritage, it is also distinct from its neighbors. There are several different types of drums used in traditional music. Drums are one of the most widely used instruments in many ceremonies both official and non official, weddings, christenings, naming ceremonies, holidays, graduations, etc. Next to drums, beaded gourdGourd
A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Gourd is occasionally used to describe crops like cucumbers, squash, luffas, and melons. The term 'gourd' however, can more specifically, refer to the plants of the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita or also to their hollow dried out shell...
rattles called Saassaa are also used in mainstream music by many Liberian singers, musicians and ensembles
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
across the country. Songs are sung in both English and all indigenous languages. Other instruments similar to the xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
include Yomo Gor. Music is a main highlight of Liberian culture not only used as entertainment but to educate society on issues ranging from culture, politics, history to human rights.
Religious music is also popular. Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
is heavily influenced by its counterpart in United States regardless of region. Islamic nasheeds popular in many countries with Muslim communities are almost unheard of in Liberia. Instead, music for Liberian Muslims are based on Quranic citations, adhan and music related to everyday life called suku. Aside from religious and traditional music, rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
and HiLife are widely popular especially with younger Liberians and American music aficionados. Both can be heard in discothèques, parties, clubs and on radios throughout the country. Jazz, funk, soul, rap and a new music style or Liberian rap called Hipco combining rap, R&B, traditional rhymes, and joint Liberian and American influences are part of the wider Music of Liberia.
Arts
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
have also gained recognition for various styles of paintings in abstract, perspective and graphic art.
Due to its strong relationship with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Liberia has also produced its own American influenced quilts. The free and former US slaves who emigrated to Liberia brought with them their sewing and quilting skills and was originally done by Americo-Liberians beginning in the 19th century. Queen Victoria invited Martha Ann Ricks, on behalf of Liberian Ambassador Edward Wilmot Blyden
Edward Wilmot Blyden
Edward Wilmot Blyden was an Americo-Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician primarily in Liberia. He also taught for five years in Sierra Leone, and his writings were influential in both countries....
, to Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
on 16 July 1892. Ricks, a former slave from Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, had saved for more than fifty years, to afford the voyage from Liberia to England to personally thank the Queen for the British navy's
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
actions against the slave trade. Ricks shook hands with the Queen and presented her with a Coffee Tree quilt, which Victoria later sent to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
for display. A mystery remains as to where the quilt is today.
The census of 1843 indicated a variety of occupations, including hatter, milliner, seamstress and tailor. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. However today, Liberians from all ethnic groups make quilts though it is not a popular as it once was when the country was adapting American customs, culture and lifestyle in mid 19th century. In modern times, Liberian presidents would present quilts as official government gifts, and when current Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.
Literature
A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. Despite European colonialists and historians labeling Liberia as a country without a written traditional until the 19th century, numerous Liberian authors throughout the years have contributed to the writings of various genres. They have written on folk artFolk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
, ancient proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
s, everyday life in countryside, city life, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and observation of their own lives. Culture, tradition, identity, society, taboo subjects, human rights, equality and diversity within Liberia, multiculturalism, Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism is a movement that seeks to unify African people or people living in Africa, into a "one African community". Differing types of Pan-Africanism seek different levels of economic, racial, social, or political unity...
, colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
and its reverberating consequences today, post colonial African countries and future of the country have been featured in novels, books, magazines and novelettes since the 19th century.
Poetry is a prominent canon of Liberian literature. Many authors have presented their pose in all poetic styles. Often adding their own unique perspectives, writing styles and observation of the material and spiritual worlds into their books. Liberia's prominent writers also share a variety of genres that cross several decades.
Edward Wilmot Blyden
Edward Wilmot Blyden was an Americo-Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician primarily in Liberia. He also taught for five years in Sierra Leone, and his writings were influential in both countries....
was the most renowned Liberian author. A diplomat, educator, statesman and writer, Blyden was considered one of the early fathers of Pan Africanism along with W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, and editor. Born in Massachusetts, Du Bois attended Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate...
and Marcus Garvy. His writings revolved around the need for Africans to develop their own identity, be culturally, spiritually and politically aware of their own potential and preside over their own self rule and to disprove the European view of Africans as culture-less. These writings inspired many Liberian authors in later years and still does today. In the end, he is known in world history and on African continent as the genius behind the phrase, "Africa for Africans!" and later inspired Marcus Garvey's Back to Africa Movement. Blyden is a national hero in Liberia.
During the 20th century and currently in first decade of the 21st century, other authors have taken a less political but prominent role in Liberian literature. Several authors are renowned for their starling, detailed and deep observation of Liberian life both in the country and abroad in Diaspora in Europe or United States. Authors Bai T. Moore
Bai T. Moore
Bai Tamia Johnson Moore , commonly known by his pen-name, Bai T. Moore, was a Liberian poet, novelist, folklorist and essayist. He also held various cultural, educational and tourism posts both for the Liberian government and for UNESCO, and was the founder of Liberia's National Cultural Center...
, e. g. bailey, Roland T. Dempster, Wilton G. S. Sankawulo
Wilton G. S. Sankawulo
Wilton Gbakolo Sengbe Sankawulo, Sr. was a Liberian politician and author.Sankawulo was born in 1937 in Haindii in Lower Bong County. He entered Cuttington College and Divinity School in 1960. He began his literary career there by publishing his short stories in the Cuttington Review, the...
, have all reflected on culture, tradition, modernization and pain of exile, loneliness, lost and remembrance in fiction and non fiction works. Bai T. Moore's novelette Murder in the Cassava Patch
Murder in the Cassava Patch
Based on a true story, Bai T. Moore's Murder in the Cassava Patch is Liberia's best-known novel. Published by Ducor Publishing House in 1968, it remains required reading for every Liberian high school student, and is widely regarded as the one real Liberian literary classic in a very small...
, is often required reading for many Liberian high school students. Published in 1968, the novelette is based on true story of a murder that discusses the most taboo subjects in mid-20th century Liberia as the story reveals the lives of the main characters and their hometown. E.G. Bailey is a spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
artist, theatre and radio producer. Politician and author Wilton G. S. Sankawulo published many collections of poems and stories which later became praised anthologies on Liberian folklore and wider African literary tradition entitled, More Modern African stories. His most celebrated book is Sundown at Dawn: A Liberian Odyssey. According to book's publisher, Dusty Spark Publishing it is regarded as "one of the literary achievement of postwar Liberia and contemporary Africa."
Cuisine
RiceRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
is by far the most important staple of Liberian cuisine, though pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
is gaining importance due to high rice costs (Thai Fragrant rice is deemed the best to eat and is imported). However, as a primarily agrarian culture Liberia does produce cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, citrus fruit, plantain
Plantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
s and coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
. Sweet potatoes are also an important part of Liberian cuisine and are eaten along with yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
s, cocoyam
Cocoyam
Cocoyam can mean:* Taro - old cocoyam* Malanga - new cocoyam...
, plantains, mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
s, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
s and various sorts of nuts and peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s. Fish is commonly eaten but meat is used more as a flavouring for dishes (along with dried and smoked fish). Stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
s (known as 'soups') are the most common dishes and are typically flavoured with fiery hot habanero and scotch bonnet
Scotch bonnet
Scotch Bonnet, also known as Boabs Bonnet, Scotty Bons, Bonney peppers, or Caribbean red peppers is a variety of chili pepper. Found mainly in the Caribbean islands and also in Guyana and the Maldives Islands and west Africa, it is named for its resemblance to a Tam o'shanter hat. Most Scotch...
chillies (called 'hot peppers'). Liberian cuisine is also atypical of West African cookery as a whole as the country has a tradition of baking
Baking
Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
.
Language
The official language of Liberia is EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. There are also more than 20 indigenous languages, a few of which have their own unique alphabets. Among the most widely studied Liberian languages in schools and universities are Bassa
Bassa language
The Bassa language is a Kru language spoken by about 350,000 people in Liberia and 5,000 in Sierra Leone by Bassa people.It has an indigenous script, Vah, developed before 1907 by Thomas Narvin Lewis while he was studying at Syracuse University in the United States. The first primer was printed...
and Vai
Vai
Vai has several possible meanings:* Vaï, Moroccan-French Canadian rapper* Vai people** Vai language** Vai syllabary* Vai * Văi, a village in Lupşa Commune, Alba County, Romania* Steve Vai, guitarist* Steve Vai's band Vai - see Steve Vai...
languages and to a lesser extent, Kpelle
Kpelle
The Kpelle people are located primarily in an area of central Liberia extending into Guinea. They speak the Kpelle language, which belongs to the Mande language family....
. Loma
Loma
Loma may refer to:* Loma, Colorado, USA* Loma, Montana, USA* Loma, Nebraska, USA* Loma, North Dakota, USA* The Loma people, of Guinea and Liberia** The Loma language spoken by the Loma* Loma Mountains, a mountain range in Sierra Leone...
and Mende
Mende language
Mende is a major language of Sierra Leone, with some speakers in neighboring Liberia. It is spoken by the Mende people and by other ethnic groups as a regional lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone....
also have their own unique alphabets but are studied less. Both languages are noted for their unique alphabets and phonetics that are not based on the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
or any European language but emerged from visions of each language's inventor. Bassa alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
was popularized by Dr. Thomas Narvin Lewis in the early 20th century after attending studies in the U.S at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
. He modeled it after he came into contact with former slaves of Bassa origin in Brazil and the West Indies who were still using the alphabet. Vai is another well known ancient script from Liberia but distinct from the Bassa alphabet.
Among the listed alphabets Bassa Vah is compared to include Armenian
Armenian alphabet
The Armenian alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Armenian language since the year 405 or 406. It was devised by Saint Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader, and contained originally 36 letters. Two more letters, օ and ֆ, were added in the Middle Ages...
, Coptic
Coptic alphabet
The Coptic alphabet is the script used for writing the Coptic language. The repertoire of glyphs is based on the Greek alphabet augmented by letters borrowed from the Demotic and is the first alphabetic script used for the Egyptian language...
(used by Egyptian Coptics and Coptic Church), Avestan used in Ancient Persia to write sacred hymns of Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
, Georgian language
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
in Republic of Georgia, Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
, Meroitic alphabet of ancient Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and parts of Nile Valley and many other ancient scripts, Greek based and Cyrillic alphabets. Some Vah letters resemble certain letters from Ge'ez alphabet of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
used to write Amharic, the national language, N'ko
N'Ko
N'Ko is both a script devised by Solomana Kante in 1949 as a writing system for the Mande languages of West Africa, and the name of the literary language itself written in the script. The term N'Ko means 'I say' in all Manding languages....
alphabet in Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
and Armenian alphabet
Armenian alphabet
The Armenian alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Armenian language since the year 405 or 406. It was devised by Saint Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader, and contained originally 36 letters. Two more letters, օ and ֆ, were added in the Middle Ages...
. The syllabary of Vai also been compared to Hiragana
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
and Katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
scripts also syllabaries for Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. However many linguists hold that Bassa and Vai alphabets are unique in their own right for being African languages with alphabets alongside Ge'ez, N'ko
N'Ko
N'Ko is both a script devised by Solomana Kante in 1949 as a writing system for the Mande languages of West Africa, and the name of the literary language itself written in the script. The term N'Ko means 'I say' in all Manding languages....
and Tifinagh
Tifinagh
Tifinagh is a series of abjad and alphabetic scripts used by some Berber peoples, notably the Tuareg, to write their language.A modern derivate of the traditional script, known as Neo-Tifinagh, was introduced in the 20th century...
(used to write Berber languages) that are neither influenced by Latin or Western writing system
Writing system
A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...
.
Media and communications
Numerous newspapers, radio stations and TV programs are broadcast and can be heard in the capital Monrovia, coastal cities and towns and countryside. Radio, newspapers and online news articles are the main form of mass communication in Liberia in recent years even surpassing TV stations as the most accessible forms of media to all Liberians. Many popular FM radio stations have their headquarters in MonroviaMonrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
along with several major national newspapers. Many radio stations are community based operated by join UN and community councils, activists, youth groups, universities and neighborhood programs. The major radio stations in Liberia are UNMIL Radio, Radio ELWA, Truth Radio, ELBC Radio and STAR radio
STAR radio
STAR radio is a FM radio station in the West African nation of Liberia. Founded in 1997, it is independent of the country’s government. Headquartered in Monrovia, it broadcasts at the 104 FM frequency and via shortwave radio.-History:...
. All have available to listen to programs online. There are currently no AM radio stations (which existed before the war) but there are a few shortwave stations. Radio also serves to promote peace, reconciliation and connect the country both rural and urban Liberians through community based apprenticeship programs for youths and young adults.
Among the most famous newspaper in Monrovia known outside Liberia is The Daily Talk
The Daily Talk
The Daily Talk is an English-language news medium published daily on a blackboard on Tubman Boulevard in the center of the Liberian capital Monrovia...
, a newspaper that has all the functions of any major newspaper but is written on a blackboard. The Daily Talk is accessible to any Monrovian and any Liberian for free. Various national newspapers can also be found online and in Liberia. The most widely read newspapers include the Liberia Herald
Liberia Herald
The Liberia Herald, founded in 1826 is the first newspaper ever published in Liberia which at the time was a colony. It was founded by Charles Force, an American freed slave who died shortly after....
, The Analyst, Liberian Observer, The News, The Heritage, and The Inquirer, among others. Several Liberian journalists have been awarded national and international awards and acclaim around the world for their commitment to press freedom and promotion of Democracy in post war countries and regions.