Dan people

[4] In the tenth century, political turmoil, population growth and land depletion caused the Dan to migrate south of the Nimba range and into the high forests.

One notable warrior chief was Grougbay Zobaneeay, who fought and pushed the tribes that once live in the present day Nimba County to as far as Loguatuo in Ivory Coast.

Kipko Toh'ah-Gbeu drove the Kru men from what is now called Tapitah, Nimba County (prior to the arrival of Chief Tapeh); his last major war with the settlers was in Sanniquellie.

Bho'Yaah, who lived in today's Garplay, Nimba County- in an alliance with Kipho Toh'Gbeu, made a truce to quit fighting the settlers.

The Dan are primarily a farming people who annually clear forest land to grow their staple foods and cash crops, such as rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, and a variety of maize.

Some of these animals (white ones) are eaten only on special ritual occasions involving much feasting, or to perform sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin.

[5] Lineages, or groups of people descended from a common ancestor in the paternal line, live in distinct sections of the town, which are called quarters in Liberian English.

[5] Dan arts are notable for wood sculpture, including a huge variety of masks, each with unique forms and purposes.

Men's societies, curator Barbara Johnson writes, "form the real socio-political unit of power in the Dan community today, as they did in the past.

Boys initiated into the society are prepared to encounter the mysteries of the spirit world and to learn the rules of adult Dan men.

These societies demonstrate their power and effectiveness through masquerades, wherein they call upon and control tutelary spirits from the bush, who appear as masked figures in this context.

In the recent historic period, Dan communities were for the first (known) time allied into a political organization, created through the Leopard society (Gor).

Diplomat, John F. Moss (working for VOA), was bestowed by a Dan tribe in Liberia as an honorary chief after he commissioned a bulldozer to help them build a road through the jungle.