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Concluding note on the sources of information
Quite some information
on secret societies, ritual killings, 'juju', a.s.o. originates from
missionaries. This should not surprise. First, most of the foreign
missionaries lived many, many years in the country, often in the
'Hinterland', knew well its people, and usually spoke the local
language. The Liberian Government's economic 'Closed Door
Policy'
prevented the presence of foreign traders and investors - until the
1930s and 1940s when the door was slowly
opened.  A
second explanation for the missionaries' reporting of these horrific
traditional practices was that they had every reason to paint the
natives as wild heathens who scared each other with voodoo, masks,
secret societies and ritual killings because this justified their
presence and efforts to convert these heathens into Christianity. Though
not comparable, slavers used the same argument to warrant their trade in
human beings since thus these people were saved from these immoral and
unhealthy practices.
The missionaries' motivation to disclose ritual malpractices concurred
with the prevailing mentality of the Americo-Liberian colonists who were
all Christians. It also explains the latter's feelings of superiority
towards the native peoples - shown at many occasions and at all levels,
even up to the Presidency. They, the newly arrived from oversees, were
christianized and civilized whereas the indigenous masses were barbaric,
wild and uncivilized. In their eyes this justified their mission: to
colonize this region and these peoples in order to bring civilization,
prosperity and the Christian belief. Besides, wasn't this one of the
main reasons behind the creation of the colonization societies in the
United States of America?
Against this background it is no longer surprising why cases of ritual
murders and activities of secret societies, leopard men, and so-called
heartmen were frontpage articles and headlines in the Liberian press
including the most gruesome pictures. The fact that a small number of
Americo-Liberians associated themselves with these practices and
demonstrated to share these traditional beliefs is another story which
will be told in Part II.
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