Tongo Player Shirt

This is shirt, made from strips of woven country cloth, with sebe/sebbeh , or amulets, attached under the arms. It is thought to have been used by the Tongo Players, a name given to a group of professional witch finders who were called in to investigate and detect members of the Leopard Society, blamed for a series of murders in Imperri chiefdom in the early 1890s. All Tongo activity was later banned by the British Colonial Government. This shirt was worn by the Kondo , the Kondo was known for fixing the fees for the services of the Tongo Players.

Further Information

• Type: Costume, dress
• Object: Tongo Player Shirt
• Materials: Textile
• Culture Group: Mende, Sherbro
• Dimensions: 620mm x 1005mm
• Production Date: Pre 1910
• Associated Places: Sierra Leone (Created); Sherbro District (Collected)
• Associated People: L. Probyn (Donor); G. W. Page (Collector)
• Museum: World Museum Liverpool Sierra Leone Collection
• Accession Number: LIVCM.17.12.10.4

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