Mende tribe

Mende

Sengbe Pieh Milton Margai Emmerson Isaiah Washington Maya Angelou J. B. Dauda
Regions with significant populations
Sierra Leone (Bo District, Bonthe District, Moyamba District, Pujehun District, Kenema District, Kailahun District, Western Area)  Guinea  Liberia Large population of Mende descendants in the United States and the Americas
Languages
Mende, Krio, Sierra Leone English, French
Religion
Majority Islam; large Christian minority
Related ethnic groups
Limba, Loko, Kpelle, Gola, Vai, Gbandi, Loma

The Mende people (also spelled Mendi) are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, have roughly the same population. The Mende and Temne each account for slightly more than 30% of the total population [1]. The Mende are predominantly found in the Southern Province and the Eastern Province, while the Temne are found primarily in the Northern Province and the Western Area, including the capital city of Freetown. Some of the major cities with significant Mende populations include Bo, Kenema, Kailahun, and Moyamba.

The Mende belong to a larger group of Mande peoples who live throughout West Africa. The Mende are mostly farmers and hunters. During the civil war the Civil Defense Force (CDF), a militia group, was founded by late Dr. Alpha Lavalie, a Mende himself, to fight the rebels along government troops. The forces included five groups drawn from all major ethnic groups in the country: Tamaboros, Hunters, Donso, Kapras, and the Kamajors.

Kamajor is a Mende term for hunter; they were not only the dominant warring factions but the most fearful among the CDF militias headed by late Deputy Minister of Defense, Chief Hinga Norman. To date, the Kamajors are honored among the elite groups of men and women who fought to restore democracy in modern Sierra Leone.

The Mendes are divided into Kpa-Mende, who are predominantly in the South - in Moyamba district, the Golah-Mende, from the Gola forest between Kenema and Pujehun districts into Liberia - a national reservation landmark, Sewa-Mende, who settled along the Sewa Rive, Vai-Mende also in Liberia and Pujehun district, Sierra Leone and the Koh-Mende who are the dominant tribe in Kailahun district with the Kissi (Ngessi) and Gbandi both of who are in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

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