Medicine Bag

This is a necklet of cotton cloth with an attached woven bag, containing magical substances, herbs, or medicines. 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.

Further Information

• Type: Religious/ritual equipment, charms
• Object: Medicine Bag
• Materials: Vegetable, organic fibre, Textile, No Data / Other
• Culture Group: Mende
• Dimensions: 225mm
• Production Date: Pre 1910
• Associated Places: Sierra Leone: Sherbro District (Created and collected)
• Associated People: L. Probyn (Donor); G. W. Page (Collector)
• Museum: World Museum Liverpool Sierra Leone Collection
• Accession Number: LIVCM.17.12.10.34

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