In their oral tradition, the Mende describe themselves as being a mixture of two peoples: their original members were hunters and fishers who sparsely populated the area in small peaceful settlements, and their leaders came later, in a recent historical period, bringing with them the arts of war, and also building larger, more permanent villages.

This is supported by analyses of their language and culture, which show signs of a layering of two different forms; they have both matrilineal and patrilineal inheritance, for instance.

[4] These leaders described in oral histories were almost certainly Mane people who descended into the coastal lowlands from the area near Moussadou, Guinea in the 16th century.

This event involved fifty-two free Mende people, stolen by Portuguese slavers in 1839, who were shipped via the Middle Passage to Havana, Cuba, where they were sold to Cuban sugar plantation owners, José Ruiz and Pedro Montes.

The ensuing case, heard in Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut, affirmed that the captives were free, and resulted in the return of the thirty-six surviving Mende to their homes.

[6] In the 1930s African-American linguist Lorenzo Dow Turner found a Gullah family in coastal Georgia that had preserved an ancient song in the Mende language ("A waka"), passing it down for 200 years.

In the 1990s three modern researchers – Joseph Opala, Cynthia Schmidt, and Tazieff Koroma — located a Mende village in Sierra Leone where the same song is still sung today.

The Sande society is concerned with defining what it is to be human and with discovering the ways of promoting love, justice, and harmony.

They exemplify the highest of Mende ideals, and they have the duty of enforcing positive social relationships and of removing any harm that might come to women in their community.

The Mende also produce beautifully woven fabrics which are popular throughout western Africa, and gold and silver necklaces, bracelets, armlets, and earrings.

The bells on the necklaces are of the type believed capable of being heard by spirits, ringing in both worlds, that of the ancestors and the living.

[13] The bird on top of the head represents a woman's natural intuition that lets her see and know things that others can't.

The high or broad forehead represents good luck or the sharp, contemplative mind of the ideal Mende woman.

The traditional character of Gonde is also a Ndoli jowei or dance instructor, but rather than a harsh enforcer, she acts as the comic relief.

At this time the ndoli jowei comes into town with a group of Sande women while the initiates stay in the bush recovering from their operations.

The next time ndoli jowei appears is at a minor feast called Kpete gbula yombo le or Sowo mba yili gbi.

At this occasion, an announcement is made to inform people of the date for the gani celebration; which is the last event of the Sande initiation that ndoli jowei appears at.

[15] Previous exhibitions of the British Museum's Ndoli Jowei piece are as follows: Hojo is a white clay that Mende women use to mark their territory.

(Boone) A woman with long, thick hair illustrates a life force, she may be blessed with a green thumb giving her the ability to have a promising farm and many healthy children.

Hair must be tied down under strict control and shaped into intricate, elegant styles for the sake of beauty and sex appeal.

Mende people consider a beautiful neck to be one with rings as it shows adolescent girls becoming ready for childbearing by the increase in body fat.

The Mende Kikakui script was invented in 1917 by Muhamad Turay and popularized by his son-in-law Kisimi Kamara (c. 1890–1962), a Kuranko man in Sierra Leone.

[23] During the 1940s, the British set up the Protectorate Literacy Bureau in the city of Bo to teach the Mende to read and write with an alphabet based on the Latin script, and Kikakui's use declined.

Thousands of Mendes were taking shelter in huge refugee camps surrounding the cities of Bo and Kenema, and the people living in those camps were organized according to their home chiefdoms, making it possible for Tuchscherer to survey the entire Mende region (about half of Sierra Leone's territory) in a small space and a short period of time.

[citation needed] Sierra Leone's first Prime minister Sir Milton Margai, who led the country to independence from the United Kingdom on April 27, 1961 was a prominent member of the Mende ethnic group.

Sierra Leonean politician Charles Margai, who is the leader of one of the country's main opposition party the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC).

[27] The Mende are a well-documented example of a non-western, pre-industrial society in which, at least historically, women took more political leadership positions relative to men.

According to MacCormack, "Contemporary women paramount chiefs are equally prominent, and their political influence now extends into national and international arenas.

"[28][29] MacCormack further notes, "There is a tendency in Western culture to define women as weak and needing protection, since they bear children.

The bearing of children demonstrates that women are strong and active agents in a society, capable of holding political office.