Creole people of Sierra Leone
(Krio)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Total population
104,311 (2022)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Sierra Leone,Gambia,United States,United Kingdom
Languages
Krio,English
Religion
Anglican •Methodist •Catholic •Baptist •Countess of Huntingdon
Related ethnic groups
African Americans,Afro-Caribbeans,Americo-Liberians,Atlantic Creoles,Black Britons,Black Nova Scotians,Gambian Creoles,Gold Coast Euro-Africans,Jamaican Maroons,Krio Fernandinos,Saro people,Tabom people.

TheSierra Leone Creole people (Krio:Krio pipul) are anethnic group ofSierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people aredescendants of freedAfrican-American,Afro-Caribbean, andLiberated African slaves who settled in theWestern Area of Sierra Leone between 1787 and about 1885. Thecolony was established by theBritish, supported byabolitionists, under theSierra Leone Company as a place forfreedmen. The settlers called their new settlementFreetown.^[2] Today, the Sierra Leone Creoles are 1.2 percent of the population of Sierra Leone.^[1]

The Creoles of Sierra Leone have varying degrees of Europeanancestry,^[3][4] similar to theirAmerico-Liberian neighbours and sister ethnic group inLiberia.^[5][6] In Sierra Leone, some of the settlers intermarried with English colonial residents and other Europeans.^[7][8] Through theJamaican Maroons, some Creoles probably also have indigenousAmerindian Taíno ancestry.^[9][10] The mingling of newly freed black andracially-mixedNova Scotians^[11] andJamaican Maroons from the 'New World' withLiberated Africans – such as theAkan,Bakongo,Ewe,Igbo andYoruba – over several generations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, led to the eventualformation of a Creole ethnicity.^{[12][13][14][15]}

The Americo-Liberians and Sierra Leone Creoles are the only recognised ethnic group of African-American, Liberated African, and Afro-Caribbean descent in West Africa.^[16][17][1] Thoroughlywesternized in their manners, the Creoles as a class developed close relationships with theBritish colonial administration; they became educated in British institutions and advanced to prominent leadership positions incolonial Sierra Leone andBritish West Africa.^[18] Partly due to this history, many Sierra Leone Creoles have first names and/or surnames that areanglicized or British in origin.

The Creoles are overwhelmingly Christian^[a] and the vast majority of them reside inFreetown and its surroundingWestern Area region of Sierra Leone.^[21] From their mix of peoples, the Creoles developed what is now the nativeKrio language, acreole deriving from English, indigenous West African languages, and other European languages. It is the most widely spoken language in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone. As the Krio language is spoken by 96 percent of the country's population,^[1][22] it unites all the differentethnic groups, especially in their trade and interaction with each other.^[23][24] Krio is also the primary language of communication among Sierra Leoneans living abroad.^[25]

The Sierra Leone Creoles settled across West Africa in the nineteenth century in communities such asLimbe (Cameroon);Conakry (Guinea);Banjul (Gambia);Lagos,Abeokuta,Calabar,Onisha (Nigeria);Accra,Cape Coast (Ghana) andFernando Pó (Equatorial Guinea).^[26] The Krio language of the Creole people influenced other pidgins such asCameroonian Pidgin English,Nigerian Pidgin English, andPichinglis.^[27][28] As a result of their history, theGambian Creole people, orAku people of theGambia,^[29][30] theSaro people of Nigeria,^[31][32][33] and theKrio Fernandinos ofEquatorial Guinea,^[34][35][36] are sub-ethnic groups or partly descended from the Sierra Leone Creole people or their ancestors.

TheEnglish wordcreole^[b] derives from theFrenchcréole, which in turn came fromPortuguesecrioulo, adiminutive ofcria, meaning a person raised in one's house.Cria derives fromcriar, meaning "to raise or bring up", itself derived from theLatincreare, meaning "to make, bring forth, produce, beget";^[37] — itself the source of the English word "create". The word creole has severalcognates in other languages, such ascréole,creolo,criol,criollo,crioulo,kreol,kreyol,krio,kriol,kriolu, andkriyoyo.

InLouisiana, the term Creole has been used since 1792 to represent descendants of African orethnically mixed parents as well as children of French and Spanish descent with no racial mixing.^[38][39][40] Its use to describe languages started from 1879, while as an adjective, from 1748.^[37] In some Spanish-speaking countries, the wordCriollo is used today to describe something local or very typical of a particularLatin American country.^[41]

In theCaribbean, the term broadly refers to all the people, whatever their class or ancestry — African, East Asian, European, Indian — who are part of the culture of the Caribbean.^[42] InTrinidad, the term Creole is used to designate all Trinidadians except those of Asian origin. InFrench Guiana the term refers to anyone, regardless of skin colour, who has adopted a European way of life, and in neighbouringSuriname, the term refers only to the descendants of enslaved Africans.^[14][42]

In Africa, the term Creole refers to any ethnic group formed during theEuropeancolonial era, with somemix of African and non-African racial or cultural heritage.^[43] Creole communities are found on most African islands and along the continent's coastal regions where indigenous Africans first interacted with Europeans. As a result of these contacts, five major Creole types emerged:Portuguese,African American,Dutch,French andBritish.^[43]

TheCrioulos of African or mixed Portuguese and African descent eventually gave rise to several ethnic groups inCape Verde,Guinea-Bissau,São Tomé e Príncipe,Angola andMozambique.^[44] TheMauritian andSeychellois Creoles are Africans with some French cultural ancestry and areChristianized. OnLa Réunion, the term Creole applies to the descendants of enslaved Africans born on the island,^[45] while inSouth Africa, the blending of East African and Southeast Asian slaves withDutch settlers, later produced acreolized population.^[46] TheFernandino Creole peoples ofEquatorial Guinea are a mix ofAfro-Cubans withEmancipados and English-speakingLiberated Africans,^[47] while theAmerico-Liberians and Sierra Leone Creoles resulted from the intermingling ofAfrican Recaptives withAfro-Caribbeans andAfrican Americans.^[48][49]

Perhaps due to the range of divergent descriptions and lack of a coherent definition, Norwegian anthropologistT. H. Eriksen concludes:

Today, Creole communities have more in common with each other than they have with anyAfrican ethnic groups. On the islands of Africa,creole languages predominate while on the mainland, creole languages arelingua franca ornational languages in Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone,Liberia, and South Africa. In island communities, Creoles are found in many occupations ranging from agricultural workers to members of society'selite. In the coastal areas of mainland Africa, Creoles acquired economic and politicalleverage due to their education, culture and close relationships with the colonial administration. They developed a strong sense of ethnic identity and formed their own political organisations. During theindependence era of the mid-1900s, some Creoles supported colonial rule but many fought for independence and held positions of power afterwards. In most countries however, Creole political influence gradually gave way to ethnic groups from the interior that were considered 'more African'.^[43]

Creole communities in Africa have grown in several ways. Elements of their culture, including language and music, have come to dominate popular culture on the islands. In Creole-established cities on the African mainland, some non-Creoles haveassimilated into Creole societies, which are perceived to enjoy privileged status. Those seeking acceptance into a Creole community usually converted to Christianity, the religion shared by nearly all Creoles.^[43]

In 1787, the British helped 400 freed slaves, primarily African Americans freed during theAmerican Revolutionary War who had been evacuated to London, and Afro-Caribbeans and Africans from London, to relocate to Sierra Leone to settle in what they called the "Province of Freedom." Some of these early settlers had been freed earlier and worked as servants in London. Most of the first group died due to disease and warfare with indigenous peoples. About 64 survived to establish the second Granville Town following the failed first attempt at colonization between 1787 and 1789.

In 1792, 1200Nova Scotian Settlers from Nova Scotia settled and established theColony of Sierra Leone and the settlement ofFreetown; these were African Americans and their descendants. Many of the adults had left Patriot owners and fought for the British in the Revolutionary War. The Crown had offered slaves freedom who left rebel masters, and thousands joined the British lines. The British resettled 3,000 of the African Americans in Nova Scotia, where many found the climate harsh and struggled with discrimination from white Nova Scotians. More than 1,200 volunteered to settle and establish the new colony of Freetown, which was established by British abolitionists under theSierra Leone Company.

In 1800, the British government also transported 550Jamaicanmaroons to Sierra Leone and subsequent waves of African American andAfro-Caribbean immigrants would settle in Sierra Leone throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

After Britain and the United States abolished the international African slave trade beginning in 1808, they patrolled off the continent to intercept illegal shipping. The British resettledLiberated Africans from slave ships at Freetown. The Liberated Africans included people from the Yoruba, Igbo, Efik, Fante, and other ethnicities of West Africa.^[15]

Some members of indigenous Sierra Leone ethnicities, were also among the Liberated Africans resettled at Freetown; they also assimilated into Creole culture. Others came to the settlement voluntarily, seeing opportunities in Creole culture in the society.^[16]

The first settlers to find a colony in Sierra Leone were the so-called "Black Poor": African Americans and Afro-Caribbean. 411 settlers arrived in May 1787. Some wereBlack Loyalists who were either evacuated or travelled to England to petition for a land of their own; Black Loyalists had joinedBritish forces during theAmerican Revolutionary War, many on promises of freedom fromenslavement.^[50][51]

On the voyage between Plymouth and Sierra Leone, 96 passengers died.^[52] However, enough survived to establish and build a colony. Seventy white women accompanied the men to Sierra Leone.Anna Falconbridge portrayed these white women as prostitutes from Deptford Prison, but they were most likely wives and girlfriends of the black settlers.^[53] Their colony was known as the "Province of Freedom" and their settlement was called "Granville Town"' after the English abolitionistGranville Sharp. The British negotiated for the land for the settlement with the localTemne chief, King Tom.

However, before the ships sailed away from Sierra Leone, 50 white women had died, and about 250 remained of the original 440 who left Plymouth. Another 86 settlers died in the first four months. Although initially there was no hostility between the two groups, after King Tom's death the next Temne chief retaliated for a slave trader's burning of his village.^[54] He threatened to destroy Granville Town. The Temne ransacked Granville Town and took some Black Poor into slavery, while others becameslave traders. In early 1791Alexander Falconbridge returned, to find only 64 of the original residents (39 black men, 19 black women, and six white women). The 64 people had been cared for by a Greek and a colonist named Thomas Kallingree atFourah Bay, an abandoned African village.^[54] There the settlers reestablished Granville Town. After that time, they were called the "Old Settlers". By this time the Province of Freedom had been destroyed; Granville Sharp did not lead the next settlement movement.

The proponents and directors of the Sierra Leone colony believed that a new colony did not need black settlers from London. The directors decided to offer resettlement to African Americans from Nova Scotia, despite the failure of the last colony. These settlers were Black Loyalists, American slaves who had escaped to British lines and fought with them during the American Revolution, to earn freedom. The British government had transported more than 3,000 freedmen to Nova Scotia for resettlement, together with white Loyalists. Some of the African Americans were from South Carolina and the Sea Islands, of the Gullah culture; others were from states along the eastern seaboard up to New England.

Some 1200 of these blacks emigrated to Sierra Leone fromHalifax Harbour on 15 January 1792, arriving between 28 February and 9 March 1792. On 11 March 1792, the Nova Scotian Settlers disembarked from the 14 passenger ships that had carried them from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone and marched toward thelarge cotton tree near George Street. As the Settlers gathered under the tree, their preachers held a thanksgiving service and the white minister, Rev. Patrick Gilbert preached a sermon. After the religious services, the settlement was officially established and was designated Freetown. The Settler men cleared the forest and shrub and built a new settlement on the overgrown site that had formerly contained the Granville Town settlement.

They had a profound influence on Creole culture; many of the Western attributes of Creole society were conveyed by the "Settlers", who continued what was familiar to them from their past lives. In Sierra Leone they were called the Nova Scotians or "Settlers" (the 1787 Settlers were called the Old Settlers). They founded the capital of Sierra Leone in 1792. The descendants of African Americans remained an identifiable ethnic group until the 1870s, when the Creole identity was beginning to form.

The next arrivals were theJamaican Maroons; these maroons came specifically fromCudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town), one of the five Maroon cities in Jamaica. The Maroons mainly descended from highly military skilledAshanti slaves who had escaped plantations and, to a lesser extent, fromJamaican indigenous people. The Maroons numbered around 551, and they helped quell some of the riots against the British from the settlers. The Maroons later fought against theTemne during the Temne Attack of 1801.^[55]

The dispute with the Temne was over "rent" which the Temne felt they were owed by the colony. In a twist that became the hallmark of politics in the subregion, the Temne had indeed signed a treaty granting full sovereignty to the Colony but then turned around to say that this was not their understanding. This misunderstanding became violent, when in 1801, the Temne attacked Freetown. The assault failed, resulting instead in the expulsion of the Temne from the area.

The next migrations of transatlantic immigrants between 1800 and 1819 were smaller in comparison to the early Nova Scotian Settlers and Jamaican Maroon immigrants.Afro-Caribbean and Liberated African soldiers from the2nd and4th West India Regiments were settled inFreetown and in suburbs around it in 1819.Barbadian rebels who participated in theBussa Rebellion were transported to colonial Freetown in 1816 and included families such as thePriddy family.

Thirty-eight African Americans (nine families) immigrated to Freetown under the auspices of African-American ship ownerPaul Cuffe, ofBoston. These Black Americans included Perry Lockes andPrince Saunders from Boston; Abraham Thompson andPeter Williams Jr. from New York City;^[56] andEdward Jones fromCharleston, South Carolina.Americo-Liberian merchants and traders also settled in colonial Freetown throughout the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Following the Jamaican Maroons and Barbadian rebels, Afro-Caribbean immigrants settled inFreetown, Sierra Leone and in settlements across the Freetown peninsula throughout the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as missionaries, artisans and colonial officials such as thePorter family fromJamaica.

Prominent Creole families of more recentAfro-Caribbean ancestry include theFarquhar family and their descendants such as theStuart family and Conton family who settled in Sierra Leone fromBarbados, theBahamas, andBermuda between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The last major group of immigrants to the colony was the Liberated Africans or "Recaptives".^[57] Held on slave ships for sale in the western hemisphere, they were liberated by theRoyal Navy, which, with theWest Africa Squadron, enforced the abolition of the international slave trade after 1808.

The Liberated Africans were multi-ethnic and were largelyAkan,Aja,Bakongo,Ewe,Angolan,Wolof,Hausa,Yoruba,Igbo,Bambara,Nupe, andFulani people who had been enslaved by illegal slave traders. The Liberated Africans also includedSherbro,Mende andTemne people who had been enslaved in territories neighbouring the Colony of Sierra Leone.

The Liberated Africans, also called Recaptives, contributed greatly to the Creole culture. While the Settlers, Maroons, and transatlantic immigrants gave the Creoles their Christianity, some of their customs, and their Western influence, the Liberated Africans modified their customs to adopt those of the Nova Scotians and Europeans, yet kept some of their ethnic traditions.^[16]: 5

Initially the British colonial administration intervened to ensure the Recaptives became firmly rooted in Freetown society; they served in the army with the West India Regiment, and they were assigned as apprentices in the houses of Settlers and Maroons. Sometimes if a child's parents died, the young Recaptive would be adopted by a Settler or Maroon family. The two groups mixed and mingled in society.^[59]

As the Recaptives began to trade and spread Christianity throughout West Africa, they began to dominate Freetown society. The Recaptives intermarried with the Settlers and Maroons, and the two groups became a fusion of African and Western societies.^{[16]: 3–4, 223–255}

The ancestors of the Creoles founded theColony of Sierra Leone and established the settlement ofFreetown in 1792. They based the plan on what they were familiar with – the grid of a North American colonial town.^[60] Thefamilies originally from Nova Scotia – the Balls, Burdens, Chambers,Davis, Dixons, Georges (descendants ofDavid George), Keelings, Leighs, Moores, Peters (descendants ofThomas Peters or Stephen Peters), Prestons,Snowballs, Staffords, Turners, Willoughsby, Williams, and the Goodings – took up residence inSettler Town. The town was in close proximity toCline Town (then Granville Town). Eighty percent of Nova Scotians lived on five streets: Rawdon, Wilberforce, Howe, East, and Charlotte street.

The next group of settlers wereJamaican Maroons fromCudjoe's Town, who arrived in Freetown, via Nova Scotia, in 1800. Notable families such as the Jarretts, Smiths, Hortons, Coles, Porters, Jones, and the Morgans, settled inMaroon Town, Sierra Leone. Seventy percent of Maroons lived on five streets: Gloucester, George, Trelawney, Walpole, and Westmoreland street. The Jamaican Maroon settlement was west of Settler Town between Walpole street and King Tom.

TheLiberated African ancestors – principally ofAkan,Bakongo,Ewe,Igbo andYoruba origin – settled across theWestern Area peninsula of Sierra Leone. By the 1850s, they had already establishedAberdeen,Bathurst,Charlotte,Dublin,Gloucester,Goderich,Grafton,Hastings,Kent,Kissy,Leicester,Murray Town,Regent,Ricketts,Sussex,Waterloo,Wellington,Wilberforce andYork.

Between the late 18th and early 20th centuries, immigrants from theBahamas,Barbados,Bermuda,Liberia and theGold Coast likewise settled in Freetown and eventually coalesced into the Sierra Leone Creole identity.^[61] In the 21st century, the majority of Creoles in Sierra Leone continue to reside in Freetown and along the surroundingWestern Area peninsula^[21] where their language and culture have a disproportionate influence relative to their population.^[22][62]

The Creole people acted as colonial administrators, traders and missionaries in other parts of West Africa during the 19th century, and as a result, there are also Creole communities inThe Gambia,Nigeria,Cameroon, andEquatorial Guinea.^[26][63] Due to normal migration patterns, theSierra Leone Civil War, and some discrimination at home, many Sierra Leone Creoles live abroad in theUnited States and theUnited Kingdom. In the United States, Creoles are mostly settled inWashington DC,Maryland,Virginia,Texas,New York,Georgia,California andNorth Carolina.^[24]

The Creoles are Christians, whether nominal or in practice, at more than 98 percent. A large proportion of the settlers from Nova Scotia and the Caribbean were Christians. Many liberated Africans also converted to Christianity.^[64]

The Creoles were instrumental in the establishment ofPan-African Christianity.^[65] Between 1840 and 1900, at least six out of every ten black African clergy in the Anglican Church across West Africa was a Creole.^[66] By the 1820s, Sierra Leone already had more Christians than the entirety of tropical Africa.^[67] Educational institutions such asFourah Bay College were initially established with the objective of training Christian clergy and educators, who were later dispatched across West Africa to spread Christianity.^[68][25]

Creole denominations are mainlyProtestant with theAnglican andMethodist churches having the largest Creole congregants. However, smaller denominations such as theBaptist church andCountess of Huntingdon denominations in places such asFreetown, andWaterloo, Sierra Leone, also have Creole attendees, although these are smaller in number compared to Creole Anglicans and Methodists.

Creole church attendees congregate at traditional "Creole" churches in Freetown such asSt. George's Cathedral,Trinity Church,St John's Maroon Church,Ebenezer Methodist Church,Rawdon Street Methodist Church, andZion Methodist Church, Wilberforce Street.

Prominent Creole Anglicans includeEdward Fasholé-Luke and Creoles such asArthur Thomas Porter,Canon Harry Sawyerr andRobert Wellesley-Cole. Well-known Creole Methodists includeSylvia Blyden, a newspaper proprietor and Creoles such asMacormack Easmon,Edna Elliott-Horton, andGeorge T.O. Robinson, the founder of theKrio Descendants Union.

Although Creoles are primarilyProtestant, there are a small number of CreoleCatholics who attendCatholic churches such as St. Anthony's Church inBrookfields and theSacred Heart Cathedral in Freetown. Prominent Creole Catholics include DrMonty Jones,Bertha Conton andFlorence Dillsworth and, in previous generations,James C.E. Parkes.

Theofficial language of Sierra Leone is English. In addition to English, the Sierra Leone Creoles also speak a distinctive creole language^[2]: xxi named after their ethnic group called Creole orKrio. Krio was strongly influenced byBritish English,Gullah,African American Vernacular English,Jamaican Creole,Akan,Igbo andYoruba.^[69]

Krio is widely spoken throughout Freetown and the surrounding towns, such that Krio speakers are no longer presumed to be of the Creole ethnic group.^[25]

The Creole people acted as traders and missionaries in other parts of West Africa during the 19th century.^[63] As a result of Sierra Leone Creolemigratory patterns, in the Gambia, theGambian Creole orAku community speak a dialect called the Aku language that is very similar to Krio in Sierra Leone.Fernando Po Creole English is also largely a result of Sierra Leone Creole migrants. A small number of liberated Africans returned to the land of their origins, such as the Saros ofNigeria who not only took their Western names with them but also imported Krio words likesabi intoNigerian Pidgin English.^{[29][32][33][36]}

In 1993, there were 473,000 speakers in Sierra Leone (493,470 in all countries); Krio was the third-most spoken language behindMende (1,480,000) andThemne (1,230,000). Today, Krio is the most widely spoken language in Sierra Leone utilized by 96 percent of the country's population.^[1][22] It unites all the differentethnic groups, especially in their trade and interaction with each other.^[23] Krio is the primary language of communication among Sierra Leoneans living abroad,^[25] and has also heavily influencedSierra Leonean English.^[70]

Native Krio speakers of the Creole ethnicity lived principally in Freetown communities, on the Peninsula, on theBanana Islands andYork Island, and inBonthe.

Creole culture is a fusion ofWest African,North American and British cultures reflected in bothVictorian andEdwardian modes of Christianity, morality, norms and values. The Creoles were economically dominant in trade and held prominent leadership positions incolonial Sierra Leone andBritish West Africa. They were influential in intellectual, technocratic, artisanal, commercial and public life in general, actively participating in multiple fields of scholarly and civic importance.^{[18][71][72][73][74][75][47]}

From their earliest presence in Sierra Leone andBritish West Africa, the Creoles, or their ancestors, have significantly contributed science,^[76][77] literature,^[78] art,^[79] agricultural skills,^[80][81] cuisine,^[24] clothing styles,^[82] music,^[83] language,^[69]pan-african christianity^[65] and cultural innovation.^[84][13] Notable examplesincludeNova Scotian settlers such asThomas Peters,^[85]David George^[86] andMoses Wilkinson^[87] who werefounding figures of the nation ofSierra Leone. Inbiomedicine, the discovery of the breakdown ofinsulin in the human body, byDavidson Nicol, was a breakthrough for the treatment ofdiabetes.^[76]John Farrell Easmon coined the termBlackwater fever and wrote the firstclinical diagnosis of the disease linking it tomalaria.^[77] Inagriscience,James Pinson Davies is credited with pioneeringcocoa farming in West Africa,^[80][88] whileWilliam Vivour was the single most successful 19th-century planter in Africa.^[81][89][90] Other notable Creoles, or their ancestors, made significant contributions to Sierra Leone and British West Africa, and werepioneers in several categories of human endeavour.^[91][72]

Creoles observe dating and marriage customs that reflect theirwesternized and broader West Africancultural retentions. Creole wedding ceremonies involve thegej orput stop – an elaborateShakespearean performance in which the hand of the bride is asked for, following the appearance of several 'roses'. Among the gifts presented by the future groom's representatives are acalabash, somekola nuts, various domestic items a wife would use (such as needles and some thread), but also a Bible, a ring, and some money.^[92]

Creole traditional wedding attire is amorning suit orlounge suit for the bridegroom and the women wear the traditionalwhite wedding dress. Creoles marry in church weddings and in the Victorian and Edwardian era, relatives sought out and introduced prospective suitors from desirable families to their kin seeking a spouse. When a suitor has been chosen by the prospective groom or bride, traditionally the groom's parents set a "put stop" day. After this day, the girl is expected to no longer entertain other suitors. On the evening before the wedding, the groom's friends treat him to "bachelor's eve," a rowdy last fling before marriage.^[93]

Ashobis, (parties) at which every guest is expected to wear the same type ofmaterials, are held on the day of the wedding or some days after, for newlyweds.^[93]

Creoles live innuclear families (father, mother, and their children), but theextended family is important to them as well.^[94] More affluent family members are expected to help those who are less fortunate. They assist poorer relatives with school fees and job opportunities. In most Creole families, women and elder siblings care for the children who in turn, are expected to complete the household chores.^[71]

Twins are important for the Creole who tend to give special names to each one. The naming convention used by the Creoles comes from theirYorubaLiberated African ancestry.^[95] The first of the twins to be born is traditionally namedTaiyewo orTayewo, which means 'the first to taste the world', or the 'slave to the second twin', this is often shortened toTaiwo,Taiye orTaye.^[96]Kehinde is the name of the last born twin and it means, 'the child that came behind gets the rights of the elder'.^[97]

Sierra Leoneangumbe music originates from theJamaican Maroon ancestors of the Creole people. It is primarily a vocal and percussive musical genre that has been associated withnationalist thought since colonial times.^[98]

Thegumbe drum is an important cultural symbol played to induce a trance-like state which connects the Creoles with their ancestors.^[99] Generally, the music is produced using the gumbe drum, themaracash and the saw. The maracash is a glass bottle and metallic object played together to produce a desirable rhythm. The jagged edge of the saw is rubbed against another sharp object to produce a rasping sound.^[100]

In modern times, gumbe music has become a key feature in Sierra Leone's musical landscape. It is often mixed with other more contemporary musical genres to create an authentic local sound.^[83]

Present-day Creoles, similar to other Sierra Leoneans, wear both African and Western-style dress. Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone had been accustomed to seeing European dress prior to the arrival of the Creoles, as a consequence of extensive trade with Europeans dating to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

However, the ethnic groups who inhabited Sierra Leone did not customarily wear Western-style dress, until they were popularized by the Creole.^[82][3][101] Like their Americo-Liberian neighbors, Creole fashion between the Victorian and Edwardian era consisted of atop hat andfrock coat for men and apetticoat for women,^[102][93] although some Creole women sometimes wore the Jamaican MaroonKabaslot andKotoku,^[103]the latter aAkan orGa word for money bag.

Although Creoles continue to wear elaborate dress style for special occasions such as weddings and parades, they adapted their styles of dress to incorporate newer Western-style fashion and intricate African-style dresses between the early to late 20th century.

Today, teenage fashion—jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers—are very much in style among young Creole people. However, older Sierra Leone Creoles still dress conservatively in Western-style suits and dresses and some Creole women still wear theJamaican Maroon Kabaslot, Kotoku, and carpet slippers and its derivative, the "print" that is a fusion of older African American,Afro-Caribbean and British dress styles.^[93]

Breakfast meal of some Creoles consist ofporridge orEnglish breakfast typically consisting of fried,poached orscrambled eggs, fried tomatoes or mushrooms,fried bread or butteredtoast, andsausages.^[104] Noonday meal includes Western style or Caribbean-derived cuisines and also African food.

Creole meals often coincide with specific days of the week. On Saturdays,fufu a dough-like paste made ofcassava pounded intoflour and a type ofpalaver sauce orplassas (leafy vegetable sauce) is often eaten. This is aspicy dish consisting ofspinach withtripe, fish, beef, and chicken. It is often made withpalm oil except forwayt soup (white soup). Additionally, other types of typical Creole plassas may be eaten with fufu, such asshakpa,okra,egusi,bologi,greens,krain krain,bitterleaf andsawa sawa among others.^[24]

Sunday dinner is a West African one-pot meal,jollof rice orcouscous andstew orpeanut soup, including someplantains andsalad.Awujoh^[c] meals on Fridays or other festive occasions are usually accompanied bysweet potato cooked in palm oil,black-eyed beans,eba, oleleh,agidi, plantain,rice bread andakara withginger beer. On other days, a variety oflocal dishes may be consumed.^[24]

Creoles use combined British Christian cultural practices and certain elements of African rituals in connection with rites of passage such as births and deaths. Creoles havechristening andbaptismal ceremonies but also have a naming ceremony commonly referred to aspull-na-doh orkomojadé on the seventh day following the birth, which is held to celebrate a new-born.^[92]

Forlife cycle ceremonies related to death among the Creoles, one such ceremony is thebabichu or barbecue ofJamaican Maroon origin and the subsequently more prevalentLiberated Africanawujoh feast,^[105][106] intended to celebrate the anniversaries of ancestors who have died. Awujoh feasts are held in remembrance of deceased family members, generally on the first anniversary of their death but sometimes on the fifth, tenth, or fifteenth anniversaries, etc.

Among some Creole families, when someone dies, pictures in the house are turned toward the wall and all mirrors or reflecting surfaces covered. At the wake held before the burial, people clap and sing "shouts"(negro spirituals) loudly to make sure the corpse is not merely in a trance. The next day the body is washed, placed inshrouds (burial cloths), and laid on a bed for a final viewing. Then it is placed in acoffin and taken to the church for the service, and lastly to the cemetery for burial.

The period ofmourning lasts one year. On the third, seventh, and fortieth day after death, awujoh feasts are held. The feast on the fortieth day marks the spirit's last day on earth. The family and guests eat a big meal. Portions of the meal andkola nuts are placed into a hole for the dead. The "pull mooning" day – the end of mourning – occurs at the end of one year (the first anniversary of a death). The mourners wear white, visit the cemetery and then return home for refreshments.^{[93][105][106]}

Creoles have inherited a wide range of proverbs and folktales, includingAnansi stories, from their multi-ethnic ancestors including theJamaican Maroons and theAkan andEweLiberated Africans. They entertain and provide instruction in Creole values and traditions. Among the best loved are Creole stories aboutAnansi the spider.^[107] The following is a typical spider tale:

Anansi stories are part of an ancient mythology that is rooted in Liberated African folklore and concerns the interactionbetween divine and semi-divine beings, royalty, humans, animals, plants and seemingly inanimate objects.^[110]

Oku people

TheOku have origins among theLiberated African community of settlers in Sierra Leone and have historically intermarried with some Creole people. However, several scholars such asRamatoulie Onikepo Othman andOlumbe Bassir classify the Oku as distinct from the Creoles because of their ancestry and strong Muslim culture.

In contrast to the Oku people, the Creoles are Christian and are a mixture of various ethnic groups includingAfrican Americans,Afro-Caribbeans, and Liberated Africans ofIgbo,Akan andYoruba descent in addition to other African ethnic groups andEuropean ancestry.^[15][8][11] Furthermore, unlike the Oku people, the Creoles do not practicecliterodotomy, engage in theBundu society, and aremonogamous.^[20]

More recently, some scholars consider the Oku to be a sub-ethnic group of the Creoles, based on their close association with British colonists and their adoption of Western education and other aspects of culture.^[19]Those classifying the Oku as part of the Sierra Leone Creole people note their adoption of similar English or European surnames (although this was a minority of Oku) and cultural aspects such asegungun,gelede,hunters' masquerade,^[111]esusu,^[112]awujoh andkomojadé.^[92] However, as scholars have outlined, the few cultural similarities between the Creole and Oku people are because there are someYoruba cultural retentions from the christianized Yoruba liberated Africans found among the Creoles and because the cultural orientation, heritage, identity and origin of the Oku people areYoruba in essence.^{[20][113][114]}

Sherbro people

According to anthropologist Anaïs Ménard, the only Sierra Leonean ethnic group whose culture is similar (in terms of its embrace of Western culture) arewesternized members of theSherbro people.^[115] Many Sherbro assimilate as Creoles, as they share the Christian faith and often have similar westernized surnames.

Some of the Sherbro interacted with Portuguese and English traders and intermarried with them in the mid-15th to 18th centuries (producing Afro-European clans such as theSherbro Tuckers andSherbro Caulkers). As a result, some of the Sherbro have a more westernized culture than that of other indigenous Sierra Leone ethnic groups.

As Creoles settled in places such asBonthe for trading and missionary purposes, the Creoles intermarried with westernized Sherbros from as far back as the 18th century.^[115]

The Creole homeland^[21] is a mountainous, narrow peninsula on the coast of west Africa. At its northern tip lies Freetown, the capital.^{[116][117][2]} The peninsula's mountain range is covered bytropical rainforests split by deep valleys and adorned with impressive waterfalls. White sand beaches line the Atlantic coast. The whole of Sierra Leone covers some 72,500 square kilometres.

Traditional Creole architecture in the colonial period included a variety of architectural styles ranging and consisting of English-style mansions, smaller to medium stone or brick houses, and traditional one or two-story wooden houses built on stone foundations reminiscent of those found in theOld South, theWest Indies orLouisiana.

The distinctive style of Creole wooden or "board" housing was brought by the Settlers fromNova Scotia, and as early as the 1790s, the Nova Scotians had built houses with stone foundations and wooden superstructures, and American-styleshingle roofs. However, subsequent African-American andAfro-Caribbean settlers continued to influence Creole architectural styles.

Despite their dilapidated appearance, some of the remaining traditional Creole board houses have a distinctive air, with dormers, box windows, shutters, glass panes, and balconies. The elite live in attractive neighbourhoods such as Hill Station, above Freetown. A large dam in the mountains^[118] provides a reliable supply of water and electricity to this area.

Creole ethnicities were formed during theEuropeancolonial era, from themass displacement of peoples^[d] brought into sustained contact with others from differentlinguistic andcultural backgrounds, who converged onto acolonial territory to which they had not previously belonged.^[13][14] Often involuntarily uprooted from their original home, the settlers were obliged to develop and creatively merge the desirable elements from their diverse backgrounds, to produce new varieties ofsocial, linguistic and cultural norms that superseded the prior forms.^{[120][14][13]: 12–23} This process, known ascreolization,^[121][122] is characterized by rapidsocial flux regularized into Creoleethnogenesis.

Like theirAmerico-Liberian neighbours, the Creoles of Sierra Leone have varying degrees ofEuropean ancestry because some of the settlers were descended from white Americans and other Europeans.^[3][7][4] HistorianDavid Brion Davis notes the racial mixing that occurred during slavery was frequently attributed by theplanter class to the "lower-class White males" but Davis concludes that "there is abundant evidence that many slaveowners, sons of slaveowners, and overseers took black mistresses or in effect raped the wives and daughters of slave families."^[123] A famous example wasThomas Jefferson's mistress,Sally Hemings.^[124]

After theAmerican Revolutionary War, theBook of Negroes listed approximately 3000 "black and mixed-race"loyalists who sailed fromNew York City toNova Scotia in 1783.^[11] Additionally, genealogical studies have shown that the majority of free African American families that originated in colonial Virginia and Maryland, descended from white servant women who had children by slaves or free African Americans.^[125][126] Sixty-five percent of those evacuated were from theAmerican South.^[127]

Through the Maroons, some Creoles probably also have indigenous AmerindianTaino ancestry.Spanish Jamaica consisted ofSpaniards, "natives", enslaved Africans, "black freedmen", mixed-race mulattoes, and those born on the island known as "creole Africans".^[9] Genetic studies on theJamaican Maroons suggest that their ancestry extends beyond Africa, to includeAmerindian, European andEast Asianprogenitors.^[9][10]

On the voyage betweenPlymouth, England and Sierra Leone, seventy European girlfriends and wives accompanied theBlack Poor settlers.^[53] There was considerable intermarriage between the Europeans who settled in the colony of Sierra Leone and the various ethnic groups that coalesced into the Creole identity.^[8] The settlers generally marriedendogamously, although individuals frommixed and European groups recorded a much higher proportion of women and men involved inexogamous marriages. Mixed-race individuals intermarried with Europeans and black colonial residents at the same rate as they married their own.^[8]

Alongside the Americo-Liberians, the Creoles of Sierra Leone are the only recognised ethnic group of African-American,^[17] Liberated African, and Afro-Caribbean descent in West Africa.

Historically, Creoles spread Christianity and their lingua franca throughout West Africa, and because of this, Sierra Leone Creole communities existed inNigeria,Ghana,Cameroon,Senegal,Equatorial Guinea andLiberia. Many Creoles traded throughout West Africa, and some settled in new countries.

Liberated Africans and their colony-born children in the early to mid-19th centuries, and subsequently Creoles between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who settled in Nigeria, were known asSaros, and there is a thriving community there. Sierra Leone Creoles who settled in the Gambia became part of theAku or Gambian Creole people; they make up an elite community in Gambia. Many recaptives returned to their original homes after being freed in Freetown, as most kept their anglicised names, they took partially new identities back to their homelands.^{[29][32][33][36]}

As a result of normal immigration patterns, theSierra Leone Civil War, and some discrimination at home,^[128][129] many Sierra Leone Creoles live abroad in the United States and the United Kingdom. What has been called the "Creole Diaspora" is the migration of Sierra Leone Creoles abroad. Many Creoles attend formal and informal gatherings. A Creole orKrio Heritage Society is based in New York City, with branches in places including Texas.

• Black Nova Scotians – ancestors of the Sierra Leone Creoles who fought for their freedom on the side of the British during theAmerican Revolutionary War. Initially resettled inNova Scotia, they arrived in West Africa where they founded the settlement of Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1792.
• Jamaican Maroons – ancestors of the Sierra Leone Creoles who freed themselves fromslavery on theColony of Jamaica. Initially resettled in Nova Scotia, after theSecond Maroon War, they eventually arrived in Freetown in 1800.
• Americo-Liberians – sister ethnic group of the Creoles of Sierra Leone, comprisingAfrican Americans,Afro-Caribbeans andLiberated Africans who founded the settlement ofLiberia in 1822.
• Gambian Creoles – descendants of the Creoles of Sierra Leone who migrated toThe Gambia in the late 19th and early 20th century.
• Saro people (Nigerian Creoles) – sub-ethnic group of the Sierra Leone Creoles who resettled in severalNigerian cities in the late 19th and early 20th century.
• Krio Fernandinos – descendants of the Creoles of Sierra Leone who migrated toBioko island,Equatorial Guinea in the late 19th century.
• Gold Coast Euro-Africans – extensively intermarried with Sierra Leone Creole migrants in colonial Ghana.

Name	Born	Died	Notability	Ref.	Image
William Vivour	1830	1890	Single most successful 19th-century farmer in Africa	[89][90]
Davidson Nicol	1925	1994	Discovered the breakdown ofinsulin in the human body, a breakthrough for the treatment ofdiabetes	[76][130][131]
James Pinson Davies	1828	1906	Pioneer ofcocoa farming inWest Africa	[132]
John Farrell Easmon (seated, with brotherAlbert)	1856	1900	Coined the term "Blackwater Fever" and was the first to link the disease directly tomalaria	[77]
Christian Frederick Cole	1852	1885	First blackgraduate ofOxford and first Africanbarrister to practice in theEnglish courts	[133]
Sir Samuel Lewis	1843	1903	First mayor of Freetown and firstWest African to receive a knighthood	[134]
Idris Elba	1972	—	Actor and winner of theBET andGolden Globe awards	[135]
Stella Jane Thomas	1906	1974	First black African womancalled to the Bar in Great Britain and firstWest African female to qualify as alawyer	[136][137]
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor	1875	1912	Composer and conductor known for histhree cantatas on the epic 1855 poemThe Song of Hiawatha	[138]
Sir Ernest Dunstan Morgan	1896	1979	Pharmaceutical entrepreneur and philanthropist	[139][140]
Frances Claudia Wright	1919	2010	First Sierra Leonean woman to be called to the Bar inGreat Britain and to practice law in Sierra Leone	[141]
Dame Linda Dobbs	1951	—	Firstnon-whiteHigh Court judge in Great Britain	[142][143]
Constance Cummings-John	1918	2000	Educator, politician and firstmayoress of Freetown	[144]
Emanuel Adeniyi Thomas	1914	1945	Firstblack African to qualify as apilot and firstRoyal Air Forceofficer of West African origin	[145]
Sir Kitoye Ajasa(born: Edmund Macauley)	1866	1937	Legislator during the colonial period and first Nigerian to receive aknighthood	[146][147]
Sir Ernest Beoku-Betts	1895	1957	Jurist and one-time mayor of Freetown	[148]
Charles Odamtten Easmon	1913	1994	Performed the first successfulopen-heart surgery in West Africa	[149]
Sir Henry Lightfoot Boston	1898	1969	First AfricanGovernor-General of Sierra Leone	[150]
Christopher Okoro Cole	1921	1990	Chief Justice, later interim Governor-General and President of Sierra Leone	[151]
Samuel Benjamin Thomas	1833	1901	Philanthropist, entrepreneur and one of the richest men in 19th-century Africa	[63]
Adelaide Casely-Hayford	1868	1960	Activist and pioneer of women's education in Sierra Leone	[152]
Lati Hyde-Forster	1911	2001	First femalegraduate of theoldest western-style university in Africa	[153][154]
Gladys Casely-Hayford	1904	1950	Playwright and first author to write in theKrio language	[155]
Clifford Nelson Fyle	1933	2006	Author of the Krio-English Dictionary and theSierra Leone National Anthem	[156]
Sir Émile Fashole-Luke	1895	1980	Chief Justice andSpeaker of the House of Parliament of Sierra Leone	[157][158]
William Broughton Davies	1831	1906	First West African to qualify as amedical doctor	[159]
Ulric Emmanuel Jones	1940	2020	First Sierra Leoneanneurosurgeon	[160]
Andrew Juxon-Smith	1931	1996	Commander of the armed forces andHead of State of Sierra Leone	[161]
James Africanus Horton	1835	1883	Surgeon, scientist and political thinker who worked towards African independence a century before it occurred	[162][163]
Agnes Yewande Savage	1906	1964	First West African woman to qualify as a medical doctor	[164]
Murietta Olu-Williams	1923	—	First woman in Africa to achieve the rank ofPermanent Secretary in theCivil Service	[165]
Charles Burgess King	1875	1961	FormerPresident of Liberia	[166]
Samuel Ajayi Crowther	1809	1891	Clergyman and firstAnglican Bishop ofWest Africa	[167]
Adesanya Kwamina Hyde	1915	1993	Royal Air Forceaviator awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross for acts of valour and courage	[168][169]
Sir Samuel Bankole-Jones	1911	1981	Chief Justice and first Sierra Leonean president of the Court of Appeal	[170]
Valentine Strasser	1967	—	Army officer and Head of State of Sierra Leone	[171]
John Clavell Smythe	1915	1996	Royal Air Forceaviation officer shot down overNazi Germany, laterattorney-general of Sierra Leone	[172]
George Gurney Nicol	1856	1888	Clergyman and first African graduate ofCambridge University	[173][144]
Sir Salako Benka-Coker	1900	1965	First Sierra LeoneanChief Justice of the Supreme Court	[174]
Napheesa Collier	1996	—	Professionalbasketball player andgold medallist at the2020 Summer Olympic Games	[175]
Ryan Giggs	1973	—	Welshfootball coach and former player, regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation	[176][177]
Leonard Benker Johnson	1902	1974	British Empire Boxing champion, considered to be one of the best middleweights of his era.	[178]

• Porter, Arthur (1966).Creoledom: A study of the development of Freetown society. Oxford University Press.ASIN B0007IT722.
• Spitzer, Leo (1974).The Creoles of Sierra Leone: Responses to colonialism, 1870–1945. University of Wisconsin Press; 1st edition.ISBN 978-0-299-06590-4.
• Wyse, Akintola (1989).The Krio of Sierra Leone: An Interpretive History. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers.ISBN 978-1-85065-031-7.
• Campbell, Mavis; Ross, George (1993).George Ross and the Maroons : from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone. Africa World Press.ISBN 978-0-86543-384-7.
• Lewis-Coker, Eyamide (2018).Creoles of Sierra Leone: Proverbs, Parables, Wise Sayings. AuthorHouse.ISBN 978-1-5462-5273-3.
• Dixon-Fyle, Mac; Cole, Gibril (2005).New Perspectives on the Sierra Leone Krio. Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers.ISBN 978-0-8204-7937-8.
• Schama, Simon (2005).Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution. BBC Books.ISBN 0-06-053916-X.
• Conteh, Doris (2021).The Creoles of Sierra Leone. Independently Published.ISBN 979-8504488066.
• Walker, James (1992).The Black Loyalists: The Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone, 1783–1870. University of Toronto Press.ISBN 978-0-8020-7402-7.
• Braidwood, Stephen (1994).Black Poor and White Philanthropists: London's Blacks and the Foundation of the Sierra Leone Settlement, 1786–1791. Liverpool University Press.ISBN 978-0-85323-377-0.
• Baron, Robert; Cara, Ana (2013).Creolization as Cultural Creativity. University Press of Mississippi.ISBN 978-1-61703-949-2.
• Teniola, Eric (2013)."The Creoles in Nigeria (2)".Daily Independent. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved17 March 2015.
• Whiteman, Kye (1 October 2013).Lagos: A Cultural History. Interlink Publishing Group, Incorporated.ISBN 978-1-62371-040-8. Retrieved16 March 2015.
• Wyse, Akintola (1990).H.C. Bankole-Bright and politics in colonial Sierra Leone, 1919–1958. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-53333-1.
• Paracka, Daniel (2003).The Athens of West Africa: A History of International Education at Fourah Bay College, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Routledge.ISBN 978-0-415-94795-4.

• Creole culture and traditional outfits
• Dr. Oloh and his Milo Jazz Band
• Johnny Smythe, RAF pilot shot down over Nazi Germany
• Sights and sounds of Krio
• Meet the Krios of Freetown, Sierra Leone (part 1)
• Meet the Krios of Freetown, Sierra Leone (part 2)

• Sierra Leone Creole people
• African-American diaspora in Africa
• Creole peoples
• Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone
• Repatriated Africans

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