ABSTRACT
The missions and schoolchildren must be considered in the context of existing educational practices of Muslims and secret societies among non-Muslims in Sierra Leone. Moreover, the policies and decisions which were made within early Sierra Leone were often informed by broader British educational initiatives which arose from England or from India under the East India Company. Skinner further elaborates that the karanthe served as the basic educational institution for the transmission of most Islamic rituals and concepts for young people. The so-called "bush schools" were central to both the Poro male initiation society and its female counterpart Sande, and together acted as a system of societal education. As William Murphy explains, the initiation camp was controlled by Poro or Sande in alternation throughout the year. Islamic educational systems were introduced into the hinterlands of Sierra Leone as a major means of conversion.
