Abstract
This study is about the significance of community and community relationships in Sierra
Leone, called kabudu in the Creole language. For many individuals the community
relationship is viewed as a precious value, that creates the factor of belonging to, and having
a place in. The community is devoid of meaning without the religious dimension. It is this
dimension which is considered to be the active reality which lends life and vitality to the
ordinary. In the process religion helps to shape and foster community solidarity and wellbeing.
Since religion is linked closely to kabudu in traditional society in Sierra Leone, this
thesis examines initially how kabudu has functioned in the traditional religious, economic
and social spheres of Sierra Leonean society, primarily by examining the structures and
institutions like village and family kabudu, created and maintained by individuals who live
and interact together on a regular basis. The thesis moves on in chapter two to an
examination of life cycle rituals: birth, puberty, marriage and death, to ascertain whether
they are created institutions which help to foster kabudu cohesion and well-being. It then
studies in chapter three, the effects of modernity, including missionary Christianity, Western
education, urbanisation and migration, on the traditional ideals of kabudu. The chapter seeks
to explore the interactive dynamism between the traditional ideal of kabudu and the factors
of modernity, to determine the extent of retention and shift occurring in the traditional ideal
of kabudu. The study follows this by outlining in detail in chapter four, how the political and
economic crises in Sierra Leone since 1961 have affected traditional practices of kabudu.
In the light of the disruptions to the traditional sense of community noted earlier, the thesis
asks if traditional expressions of kabudu have begun to be replaced by the contemporary
evangelical Christian movement which have sprung up throughout Freetown. The remaining
two chapters thus analyse selected evangelical Christian groups in Freetown as expressions
of kabudu to determine whether their rise and expansion can be explained by the prevailing
need for the traditional sense of kabudu, by its disruption due to persistent social
disintegration since 1961 and by the emphasis of such evangelical groups on social cohesion
and community.
