Keeping Ebola at bay: public authority and ceremonial competence in rural Sierra Leone

Abstract

Ebola Virus Disease struck Sierra Leone in May 2014. An international response was instrumental in ending the epidemic by December 2015 and has been extensively documented. Less attention has been paid to local responses. Here, we focus on a case in which there was no infection despite high infection in neighbouring areas. This brings into focus the role of customary public authority in implementing successful controls. We pay particular attention to the activities of a chiefdom Ebola Task force committee chaired by the Paramount Chief. Meetings were characterised by protocol and ceremony, but ‘face time’ served to reinforce, in ritual terms, important messages about quarantine and social distancing. The committee's pronouncements had illocutionary force. Local volunteers translated this ceremonial message into practical action to block imported cases. The analysis of ceremonial competence, we conclude, opens a window into how public authority addresses developmental shocks in Africa.

Comparing social responses to Ebola and Covid-19 in Sierra Leone: an institutional analysis

“…Local administrations also competed to turn their chiefdom from 'red' (active cases) to 'green' (no cases), even if, given the political salience of 'red' and 'green' as the colours associated with the two main rival political parties in Sierra Leone, the choice of colour coding might have been queried as somewhat unfortunate. Kamara et al (2022) describe the strength of protest when one chiefdom Ebola task force committee found it had wrongly been credited with a 'positive' case (a local resident who had been infected, and recovered, elsewhere). The Paramount Chief took considerable trouble to have this anomaly reclassified (exactly as Douglas, 1986 predicts).…”

“…The Paramount Chief took considerable trouble to have this anomaly reclassified (exactly as Douglas, 1986 predicts). The minutes of the chiefdom Ebola task force committee record that if the anomaly could not be removed administratively, then the person should be obliged to remove themselves physically (Kamara et al, 2022)! In all, people concluded that the way to beat Ebola was to follow the law.…”