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Poro & Sande Society Sacred Groves (Sierra Leone)
Across Sierra Leone (Mende, Temne areas)
Sierra Leone
Active
Regional cluster
- Location
- Across Sierra Leone (Mende, Temne areas)
- Coordinates
- ~8.5°N 11.8°W
- Elevation
- Lowland rainforest/savanna
- Size
- Many small village groves (virgin-forest clearings)
- Age / Founded
- Ancient (secret-society tradition)
- Status
- Active
- Deity & Religion
- Poro (male) & Sande (female) secret-society spirits; Mende/Temne traditional religion
- Community & Guardians
- Mende, Temne & other Sierra Leonean communities
- Vernacular name
- Poro 'bush' / Sande grove
- Record type
- Regional cluster
Cultural practices & uses
Society initiation & business; closed to non-members; taboo-protected
Plant species
Upper Guinean rainforest remnants
Biome & fauna
Upper Guinean forest; wildlife refugia
Threats & protection
Protected from encroachment by society taboos; biodiversity reservoirs
Source
'The role of secret societies in the conservation of sacred forests in Sierra Leone'