The planting, cultivation, and expression of coconuts, kernels, cacao and edible vegetable oils and seeds of commerce. A practical handbook for planters, financiers, scientists, and others

Poro on Trial: The 1913 Special Commission Court case ofRex v. Fino, Bofio and Kalfalla

“…To the British barristers and legislators involved with the colony and governance, Poro was a challenge and threat to civil society, and the “Human Leopard Society” specifically was an overtly cannibalistic group which “terrorised large provinces of the Protectorate” (Gray 1916:196). The Special Court cases and the widespread arrests and punishments for those found guilty are treated by such accounts as a reasonable response to an “outbreak” of supposedly “suppressed” secret societies (Newland 1916:130). Again, this narrative and the language which was used during this period to stigmatize membership in what had been a form of regional government should be considered in light of British ambitions within the inland regions of Sierra Leone at that point.…”