Official name: Republic of Liberia
Capital city: Monrovia
Internet country code: .lr
Flag description: Eleven equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the United States flag
National anthem: “All Hail, Liberia Hail!”, lyrics by Daniel Bashiel Warner, music by Olmstead Luca
National bird: Pepperbird
Geographical description: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Total area: 43,000 sq. mi. (111,369 sq. km.)
Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Nationality: noun: Liberian(s); adjective: Liberian
Population: 3,195,931 (July 2007 CIA est.)
Ethnic groups: African 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves)
Languages spoken: English (official), more than 15 indigenous languages
Religions: Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous religions 40%
| Armed Forces Day | Feb 11 |
| Christmas Day | Dec 25 |
| Decoration Day | Mar 9, 2011; Mar 14, 2012; Mar 13, 2013; Mar 12, 2014; Mar 11, 2015; Mar 9, 2016; Mar 8, 2017; Mar 14, 2018; Mar 13, 2019; Mar 11, 2020; Mar 10, 2021; Mar 9, 2022; Mar 8, 2023 |
| Fast and Prayer Day | Apr 11 |
| Flag Day | Aug 24 |
| Independence Day | Jul 26 |
| J. J. Robert's Birthday | Mar 15 |
| National Unification Day | May 14 |
| New Year's Day | Jan 1 |
| President Tubman's Birthday | Nov 29 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Nov 3, 2011; Nov 1, 2012; Nov 7, 2013; Nov 6, 2014; Nov 5, 2015; Nov 3, 2016; Nov 2, 2017; Nov 1, 2018; Nov 7, 2019; Nov 5, 2020; Nov 4, 2021; Nov 3, 2022; Nov 2, 2023 |
(Republic of Liberia), a state in West Africa. Liberia is bordered by Sierra Leone in the northwest, the Republic of Guinea in the north and northeast, and the Ivory Coast in the east. On the west and south it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Area, 111,400 sq km; population, 1.57 million (1972 estimate). Monrovia is the capital city. Administratively, the country is divided into nine counties and five territories.
Constitution and government. Liberia is a republic. The present constitution was adopted in 1847 and amended in 1955. The head of state and government is the president, elected by the population for a term of eight years (in the event of reelection, for four years). The president has broad authority. He directs foreign and domestic policies, appoints ministers, and serves as the supreme commander of the armed forces.
The legislature in Liberia has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House has 62 deputies elected for four years. Eighteen members (two from each county) are elected to the Senate for a term of six years. Electoral rights are granted to all citizens who have reached the age of 18 and are owners of real estate or pay hut tax in settlement areas of certain tribes. Liberia’s cabinet carries out advisory functions under the president.
Counties are governed by prefects (superintendents) appointed by the president. Territories are directed by commissioners. Traditional tribal chiefs play an important role in local administration.
The judicial system includes the Supreme Court (with five judges), which carries out functions of constitutional review, as well as district, municipal, and special courts and courts of arbitration.
Natural features. The coast is basically flat; a sandy embankment stretches out along it, separating various lagoons. A maritime lowland plain several dozen km wide has no major inlets and is swampy in certain areas. A Precambrian crystalline foundation comes to the surface over the major part of the plain. In the heart of the country the plain gradually rises and becomes hilly (400–600 m) and through a number of stages is transformed into the rolling Leone-Liberian Upland with separate insular mountains (Mount Nimba, 1,752 m). There are deposits of iron, diamonds, and gold.
The climate is hot and humid. Average monthly temperatures are at least 28°C year-round. Along the coast the heat is moderated by sea breezes. Annual precipitation ranges from 1,500 or 2,000 mm in inland regions to 5,000 mm on the Atlantic coast. A relatively dry season extends from November to April, and a rainy season, from May to October.
There is a dense network of rivers. Numerous small but deepwater rivers, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean, rise in the Leone-Liberian Upland. The most important rivers are the Mano, Loffa, and St. Paul (Diani). The St. John, Sess, and Cavalla have many rapids along the upper and middle courses. Only the lower part of the St. John is accessible to shipping (for a distance of 50 km).
Approximately one-third of the territory is covered by thick evergreen equatorial forests on red-yellow laterite (ferralite) soils. Mahogany, rosewood, rubber (hevea), and other valuable varieties of trees are found in the forests. Coffee trees, wine palms, and oil palms are widespread. Along with evergreens, forests with deciduous foliage and sparse growths of trees grow in the northeast of the country. A tall-grass savanna with umbellate acacia and baobab appears along the border with the Republic of Guinea. Mangrove vegetation is developed along the coast. Water buffalo, antelope, leopards, and boars are encountered in the savanna. In the forests there are many monkeys and snakes. There is an abundant fauna of birds and insects (termites and tsetse flies). Local fauna and flora are preserved in a reservation on Mount Nimba.
Population. The most numerous population group (about 47 percent) consists of closely related peoples speaking languages of the Mande language family; these are the Kpelle, Loma, Mano, Malinke, and others living in the northern region of the country and the Vai, who inhabit the coast northwest of Monrovia. In the southern part of Liberia and along the coast live the peoples of the Guinean group—the Kru, Grebo, Kran, Guéré, and others, comprising about 43 percent of the entire population. Peoples speaking languages of the West Atlantic, or western Bantoid, group (Gola, Kissi; about 9 percent of the population) live in the northwestern region of the country. Descendants of liberated American Negroes, who were the founders of the republic, make up about 1 percent of the population, living primarily in coastal cities and speaking English. They have a special, privileged position in Liberia. English is the official language, although it is used by a minority of the population. The overwhelming majority of the population maintains local traditional beliefs; the remainder are Muslims and Christians (mainly Protestants). The Gregorian calendar is official.
During the period 1963–70 annual population growth averaged 1.7 percent, and in 1971 there was a growth rate of 2.9 percent. The work force numbers approximately 450,000 persons (1971). In 1972, 51 percent of the total work force was employed in agriculture, 24.5 percent in mining, 4.9 percent in manufacturing, 2.8 percent in construction, 2.0 percent in power engineering, 6.5 percent in commerce, approximately 6 percent in transport, and 2.3 percent in the service industry. Of the hired hands, about 42,000 are employed on rubber plantations. Average population density is 14 persons per sq km. The population is unequally distributed. Most highly populated is the coastal region (30–35 persons per sq km), most sparsely populated are areas covered by tropical forests (3–5 persons per sq km). Urban residents account for 28 percent of the population (1970). The most important cities are Monrovia (150,000 persons; 1972 estimate), Marshall, Buchanan, Harper, and Ganta.
Historical survey. The early history of the peoples of Liberia has not been sufficiently studied. Europeans (Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French) began to appear on the coast of modern Liberia in the second half of the 15th century. They encountered a population engaged in a subsistence economy. In 1821 a group of American Negroes, with the assistance of the American Colonization Society (which attempted to remove freed slaves from the country), bought Providence Island and a section of the mainland opposite it from local chiefs. A settlement was founded there with the name of Monrovia (in honor of the American president J. Monroe), and the entire colony began to be called Liberia (from the Latin liber, “free”). New settlements emerged in 1834–36: Maryland, Bassa Cove, and Greenville. Initially, they were independent of each other. On Apr. 1, 1839, the Commonwealth of Liberia was created; it joined in a federation all settlements with the exception of Maryland (which joined the Republic of Liberia in 1857). The Republic of Liberia was proclaimed on July 26, 1847. It was recognized by Great Britain in 1848, France in 1852, and the USA in 1862.
Immigrants who called themselves Americo-Liberians occupied leading positions in the state administrative apparatus and economy. A small number of them owned their own plantations, which grew export crops and used hired labor. The majority of Americo-Liberians were transformed into a hereditary caste of officials, officers, jurists, and so on. In 1869 they formed the True Whig Party, which has been in power since 1878. A bureaucratic and comprador bourgeoisie began to develop.
In the second half of the 19th century Great Britain and France, whose possessions surrounded Liberia, attempted to annex it. It was only in 1911, after having lost 44 percent of its original territory, that Liberia, exploiting contradictions between the colonial powers, was able to achieve final recognition of its borders by Great Britain and France.
Military actions between the settlers and native inhabitants, as well as the aggression of European powers, placed the republic in an extremely difficult financial position. It was forced to resort to foreign loans (British loans in 1870 and 1906 and an international loan in 1912). The conditions of these loans stipulated, in addition to high interest rates, the establishment of foreign control over customs duties and national tax receipts; this, in essence, amounted to the introduction of a regime of capitulation.
In early 1918, Liberia formally entered World War I on the side of the Entente. After the war American capital began to penetrate the Liberian economy on a large scale. In 1926 the trust Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, with the active assistance of the US State Department, received a large concession from the Liberian government for the cultivation of rubber-bearing plants. The transaction was concluded on conditions which made a virtual serf of Liberia. During World War II, Liberia officially joined the antifascist coalition in January 1944; the USA used Liberian territory for transshipment of its forces and military equipment to the Middle East and Far East. The USA constructed military bases in Liberia and received permission to use the port in Monrovia and the airport at Robertsfield.
On Jan. 3, 1944, W. S. Tubman acceded to the post of president (which he retained until his death in July 1971). He proclaimed a “unification policy,” directed at the elimination of inequality between the native population and the descendants of American settlers, and stated that the country was populated by a single people, Liberians. At the same time, the president announced the intention of the government to pursue an “open door policy,” anticipating the broad enlistment of foreign investments. In 1945, implementing principles of the unification policy, suffrage was extended to native male inhabitants, whose rights had been restricted by property qualifications. Native inhabitants received access to state service, and certain tribal representatives occupied prominent posts. However, interethnic contradictions were not completely surmounted.
In the early 1940’s the flow of foreign, primarily American, capital into Liberia increased. (In 1970, 45 foreign companies with capital of $1 billion were operating in Liberia.) The formation of the national bourgeoisie, principally in the service industry, accelerated during the postwar period. An important stratum of the national bourgeoisie consists of the local owners of rubber plantations (referred to as national producers). This comparatively small group exercises significant influence on Liberian politics. (In the early 1970’s there were approximately 5,200 national producers.) The formation of the working class accelerated after World War II. There were approximately 120,000 wage laborers in the early 1970’s, according to estimates. The majority of these were migrant workers. Most of the workers are concentrated on rubber plantations and in the mining industry. Trade union organizations appeared in 1960.
Liberia maintains close relations with the USA. In 1959 it concluded a military agreement with the USA for consultations in the “event of aggression or the threat of aggression against Liberia.” Liberia is an active member of the Organization of African Unity. In July 1971, W. Tolbert became president. In December 1972 there was an exchange of embassies between the USSR and Liberia.
M. IU. FRENKEL’
Political parties and trade unions. The True Whig Party, founded in 1869, is the country’s only party. It has been in power since 1878. It represents the interests of the national bourgeoisie and tribal chiefs. Liberia has two trade union associations: the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Labor Congress of Liberia (both founded in 1960). The trade unions are controlled by the government.
Economic geography. Liberia is a developing country with an economy dominated by foreign capital. A capitalist structure is combined with subsistence and semisubsistence structures. The leading sectors are the production of natural rubber (first place in Africa and sixth place in the capitalist world) and extraction of iron ore (first place in Africa and eighth in the capitalist world). In exports of iron ore, Liberia ranks fourth in the capitalist world (after Canada, Sweden, and Australia).
Until the mid-1940’s the national commodity industry was based on the cultivation of rubber-bearing plants, the plantations of which belonged to an American company. The mining of rich deposits of iron ore, discovered during World War II, began in 1951 with the assistance of foreign capital. The inflow of American and other foreign capital increased, particularly for the mining of iron ore, in conjunction with the Liberian government’s stated “open door policy” (1944)—a series of measures directed at increasing foreign investments (low taxes on profits, long-term concessions, absence of control on foreign currency exchange, etc.).
Liberia’s gross national product in 1969 was $395 million (at current prices). The various economic sectors contributed to the total in the following proportions: agriculture, 18.8 percent; mining, 30.9 percent; manufacturing, 5.8 percent; construction, 5.3 percent; commerce, 13.1 percent; and transportation, 7.3 percent. Per capita gross national product in 1971 totaled $284.
AGRICULTURE. Communal farming and land use are characteristic of the agriculture of the native population. Slash-and-burn farming is employed. Approximately 35 percent of the territory is used for cultivation (including perennial crops), and 2 percent, for pasture. Cassava, sweet potatoes, and rice are the principal crops raised on peasant farms. Liberia does not have sufficient foodstuffs because of the specialization in growing export crops and because of the backward agricultural technology of peasant farms. The best lands are distributed among foreign companies. Hevea rubber is the chief export crop. Total area of plantations used on a concession basis by six foreign companies (four US, one German, and one Dutch-German) in 1971 equaled 53,000 hectares (ha); they yield more than 70 percent of the rubber crop. The largest plantations, belonging to an American firm, the Firestone Plantations Company (36,000 ha), are situated to the east of Monrovia (in the Farmington River valley) and near the city of Harper (in the Cavalla River valley). A total of 4,200 Liberian farmers own approximately 72,000 ha of land used for hevea cultivation; the harvest of hevea juice on their farms makes up 30 percent of the overall national harvest. Only about 250 farmers own plantations of 100 ha or greater; most farmers own plantations of less than 50 ha.
The harvesting of oil palm fruits (primarily along the coast) is of considerable importance. Oil and palm kernels are bought up by the British-Dutch concern Unilever (exports of 13,000–14,000 tons per year). Other significant crops are cocoa beans (in the southeast; exports exceed 2,000 tons) and coffee (plantations in the northwest, in the Loffa and Mano valleys; exports total approximately 5,000 tons per year). These plantations belong to Liberian and foreign companies. Wild coffee is also harvested. There are banana plantations (belonging to a company of the Federal Republic of Germany) in the Sinoe River valley. Sugarcane and coconut palms are also cultivated.
| Table 1. Harvest of chief agricultural crops (in tons) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948–521 | 1961–651 | 1971 | |
| 1 Average per year 2 Export 3 1971–72 4 1970 | |||
| Rubber2............... | 31,300 | 43,900 | 80,300 |
| Oil palm: | |||
| kernels.............. | 17,200 | 9,300 | 14,100 |
| oil................. | 40,000 | 41,200 | 41,200 |
| Cocoa beans............ | 700 | 1,000 | 1,8003 |
| Coffee................ | 200 | 2,900 | 4,500 |
| Rice................. | 178,000 | 161,000 | 153,000 |
| Cassava............... | 397,000 | 366,000 | 340,0004 |
Because of limited pasture and an abundance of tsetse flies, livestock raising is possible only in the savanna of the northeast, where unproductive strains of cattle are raised (30,000 head in 1970–71). In certain forest regions and along the coast, sheep (156,000 in 1970–71), goats (140,000), and pigs (83,000) are raised.
Fish catches in 1971 totaled 23,000 tons. Timber exploitation (mahogany and rosewood trees) is conducted mainly by foreign companies over an area of about 4 million ha; the largest concession belongs to the Venply company. The state owns 1.7 million ha of forest area. Lumbering totaled 1.6 million cu m in 1970.
INDUSTRY. Mining industry has undergone considerable development. Iron ore is mined in the Bomi Hills regions (a concentrating plant is located there) by the American firm Liberia Mining Company; in the region of Mount Nimba by the mixed company Liberian-American-Swedish Minerals (Lamco) with participation by the Liberian government (50 percent), the American concern Bethlehem Steel (25 percent), and a group of Swedish companies (25 percent); in the Mano River valley by the National Iron Ore Company, the stocks of which are equally divided between the Liberian government and the American company Republic Steel; and in the Bong region by a mixed company (Delimco), where 50 percent is owned by the Liberian government and 50 percent by a consortium of companies from the Federal Republic of Germany (Thyssen and Krupp) and Italy (Finsider). Mining of iron ore has begun in the areas of Tokadeh (Lamco) and Wologisi (Liberian Iron and Steel Corporation), in which 50 percent of the shares belong to the Liberian government and 50 percent to an American company. Ore is shipped to ports along specially built railroads. Diamonds are mined mainly in the Loffa River valley, and small quantities of gold are mined in the Loffa and Sinoe valleys, in the Zorzor region, and elsewhere.
| Table 2. Mining of minerals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | 1961 | 1971 | |
| 1 Based on metal content in ore 2 Export 3 1954 4 1970 | |||
| Iron ore (tons)1............... | 893,000 | 2,139,000 | 15,400,0004 |
| Diamonds (carats)2............. | 125,0003 | 1,096,000 | 700,000 |
| Gold (kg)................ | 27 | 65 | 100 |
Manufacturing industry is represented by small-capacity petroleum-refining, cement, lumber, palm-oil, and nonalcoholic-beverage plants, clothing and footwear factories, and so forth. There are four enterprises for the production of iron-ore pellets (in Buchanan and Bong).
In 1970 electric power production totaled 502 million kilowatt-hours (k W-hr), including 242 million k W-hr produced at hydroelectric power plants; plants producing power for general use accounted for 277 million k W-hr (their fixed capacity is 82,500 k W). Crafts have been developed, including spinning, weaving, and the production of mats, baskets, and hides.
TRANSPORTATION. The main form of transportation is automotive. Highways total 4,000 km in length, of which 2,000 km are suitable for year-round use. The railroad lines are Monrovia-Bomi Hills-Fono (160 km), Monrovia-Bong (93 km), and Buchanan-Nimba (267 km).
Liberia has a special status in terms of world maritime shipping. Because Liberia has the lowest registration fees and taxes of all the capitalist countries, ships sailing under the Liberian flag (belonging mainly to the USA, Great Britain, and Greece) had an overall tonnage in 1971 of 38 million tons. Liberia actually has no ships of its own. The largest ports are Monrovia, Buchanan, Marshall, and Harper.
There are international airports at Robertsfield (60 km from Monrovia) and Spriggs Payne (in Monrovia).
FOREIGN TRADE. Exports increased from $28 million (amended data) in 1950 to $213.7 million in 1971 (with imports of $162.4 million). Important export items (1971) are iron ore (71.7 percent), rubber (14.5 percent), diamonds (2.5 percent), coffee and cocoa beans (2.4 percent), and timber and lumber (3.6 percent). Finished industrial commodities and foodstuffs are imported. Leading foreign-trade partners in terms of exports (1971) are the USA (22.2 percent), the Federal Republic of Germany (18 percent), the Netherlands (15 percent), Italy (12 percent), Japan (11 percent), and Great Britain (3.4 percent); in terms of imports (1970) the leading partners are the USA (32 percent), the Federal Republic of Germany (9.6 percent), Great Britain (8.9 percent), Japan (8 percent), the Netherlands (8 percent), and Italy (2.1 percent). The monetary unit is the Liberian dollar.
M. IU. FRENKEL’
Armed forces. Liberia’s armed forces consist of an army (about 5,000 men in 1972) and a navy (about 250 men). The president is the supreme commander and the head of the Liberian Joint Security Commission, which includes the minister of defense, who is responsible for direction of the forces. The army is manned by volunteers and trained by American instructors.
Health and social welfare. In 1971 the birth rate was 50 per 1,000 population; the death rate, 21 per 1,000. Infant mortality was 159 per 1,000 livebirths. Average life expectancy was 36.1 years for men and 38.6 years for women. Infectious pathologies predominate. Basic health problems are malaria, tuberculosis, skin diseases, and venereal diseases. Intestinal infections, meningitis, and leprosy are found throughout the country. Coastal tropical forests contain breeding grounds for yellow fever, filariases, and frambesia. Trypanosomiasis, filariases, urogenital schistosomiasis, and helminthiases are widespread in the north of the country and the Leone-Liberian Upland. Local epidemics of smallpox are periodically registered in various regions.
In 1971 there were 34 hospitals with 2,400 beds in Liberia, of which 14 were state hospitals with 1,200 beds (two beds per 1,000 population). Outpatient treatment was rendered by 32 hospital ambulatory sections, one polyclinic, 200 dispensaries, two mobile medical brigades, and private general practitioners. A considerable part of the population uses the services of witch doctors. As of 1971 there were 107 doctors (one physician per 12,000 population), 13 dentists, and 700 paramedical personnel. Physicians are trained by a division of the University of Liberia and the Tubman National Institute of Medicine. Schools for the training of nurses, midwives, and public health inspectors are in operation. Public health expenditures totaled $6.4 million in 1971.
T. A. KOBAKHIDZE and Z. I. MARTYNOVA
VETERINARY SERVICES. Widespread animal diseases include sheep and goat scabies and contagious pulmonary pneumonia and nematodiasis of cattle. There have been cases of anthrax (among elephants, cattle, and pigs), rabies (among dogs), and leukemia, Newcastle disease, and smallpox-diptheria (among fowl). A veterinary network has not been organized. There are three veterinarians in Liberia (1972).
Education and cultural affairs. According to 1971 data, approximately 80 percent of the population of Liberia is illiterate. The educational system is based on the American model, with instruction in English. The first step in the educational system is kindergarten, for children from the age of four to six (there are few kindergartens). As early as 1919 the six-year elementary school was declared to be mandatory; however, in 1971 more than 60 percent of the school-age children did not have the opportunity to attend. Secondary and vocational education is not free. Secondary six-year school consists of two cycles, each three years long (junior and senior high school). Approximately 30 percent of the elementary schools and 50 percent of the secondary educational institutions belong to American missionary organizations. Vocational-technical and pedagogical education is generally provided after the first cycle of secondary school. In the 1970–71 academic year pupils at the elementary level numbered 120,200 (including those attending preschool institutions), and at the secondary level, 16,700 (of which 15,500 were enrolled in general educational schools, 887 in vocational-technical, and 390 in pedagogical institutions).
The State University of Liberia in Monrovia (founded in 1951) consists of colleges of arts and sciences, pedagogy, agriculture, forestry, and others, as well as a law school and other schools. The higher-education system also includes two private institutions—Cuttington College in Suakoko and Maryland Teachers College. More than 1,200 students were enrolled in institutions of higher education in the 1971–72 academic year.
The Government Public Library (founded in 1959; 15,000 volumes) and the library of the State University of Liberia (40,000 volumes) are located in Monrovia.
V. P. BORISENKOV
Science and scientific institutions. Scientific research is oriented toward the needs of agriculture and the mining industry. Cultivation techniques of rubber-bearing plants, coffee, cocoa beans, and sugarcane are studied at the Central Agricultural Extension Station in Suakoko. Other stations conduct research on livestock raising, veterinary medicine (particularly control of the tsetse fly), and river fishing. The university’s college of agriculture and forestry is also engaged in agricultural research. The Institute of Tropical Medicine (a division of the American Foundation for Tropical Medicine) has been in operation since 1952. The Geographical and Ore Mining Society of Liberia (founded in 1964) prospects for minerals.
Press, radio, and television. The leading newspapers are The Liberian Age (published since 1946; circulation 4,000; the organ of the True Whig Party) and The Liberian Star (published since 1964; circulation 4,000; a private commercial publication). Radio and television (initiated in 1964) are controlled by a state service agency, the Liberian Radio Broadcasting Corporation.
Literature. The Kru, Vai, Malinke, and other peoples, as well as the descendants of the American Negroes, have a rich folklore (tales, legends, fables, sayings, aphorisms, and songs). In 1957 the book Historical Legends and Folklore of the Grebo Tribe was published. In the 1830’s, Wasolu Dualu, writing in the Vai language, produced the first history of the Vai people. Contemporary literature is developing principally in the English language. Literary forces are grouped around the Society of Writers. The best-known authors are the poet Bai T. Moore (author of a collection of poetry entitled Star Dust, 1962), R. T. Dempster, professor at the University of Liberia (compiler of an anthology of Liberian literature), the writer Doris Banks Henries, and Edit Bright (author of the popular play “Diary”). The best poems of Moore (”New Africa”) and Jene Holmes (”Legend of the Golden Stool”) are directed against colonialism, which is suppressing African national culture and art, and are imbued with a love for Africa. The Liberian Dramatic and Cultural Society is striving to revive the best folk traditions and to develop theater and dramaturgy.
S. P. KARTUZOV
Folk art. Round (less frequently, rectangular) frame huts, coated with clay and covered by straw roofs with long overhangs, are widespread in the central regions of Liberia. The walls are often decorated with painted many-colored ornaments and wooden carvings. Two- and three-story wooden frame houses on concrete foundations, as well as stone houses with verandas, predominate in urban construction along the coast (Monrovia and other cities). Since the mid-1940’s large public buildings have been constructed in the style of modern European architecture.
The most widespread form of crafts is the carving of wooden figurines and masks of various types (usually in black), used in ritual costumes for religious ceremonies. Some figurines and masks show the distinctive ethnic features of the people; some are conventional; and others are grotesque. The narrow stylized faces of the large masks of the Mende people have thick necks of broad flat rings; they resemble Benin bronze heads. The fantastically strange masks of the Poro secret society (where tribal initiation ceremonies are held) have highly conventional facial features represented by sharp schematic lines. Woodcarving, ceramics, wickerwork, and metalworking are well-developed crafts.
Music. The musical art of the Liberian peoples is limited to folklore. Song genres are related to such themes as weddings, labor, lullabies, and funerals. Texts are improvised. The pentatonic scale of songs corresponds to the scales of musical instruments. Instrumental music is characterized by polyrhythms, based on the use of drums. Guitars, harps, and other stringed instruments are in wide use. Flutes, horns, and whistles are encountered in orchestras. One of the instruments is the zanza (the African piano). In 1963 the Liberian Dramatic and Cultural Society was established; its goal was to preserve, support, and develop the cultural heritage of the Liberian peoples. The society organized a group of singers and musicians. Future artists and musicians study at the school of the society (in the village of Kenema). The National Cultural Troupe of Liberia, which represented the country at the first festival of African art in Dakar, was created in 1966. One of the best productions of the troupe was the musical folk drama Love Came to a Forest Girl.