Harry Alphonso Ebun Sawyerr

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(9 October 1909 – August 1986) was a Sierra Leonean Anglican theologian and writer on

African religion The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural ...

. He became principal of

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...

and Vice Chancellor of the

University of Sierra Leone The University of Sierra Leone is the name of the former unitary public university system in Sierra Leone. Established in February 1827, it is the oldest university in Africa. As of May 2005, the University of Sierra Leone was reconstituted int ...

. Sawyerr studied initially at Fourah Bay College, later moving to England to study at the main campus of

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. He successively earned

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(1933),

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(1936) and

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

(1940) degrees. Harry Sawyerr was influenced by Thomas Sylvester Johnson, the first assistant bishop of Sierra Leone.Andrew F. Wallis, 'Johnson, Thomas Sylvester', in Gerald H. Anderson, ed., ''Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions'', 1998. Reprinte
online
at the ''Dictionary of African Christian Biography''.

Works

* (with William Thomas Harris) ''The Springs of Mende Beliefs and Conduct: a discussion of the influence of the belief in the supernatural among the Mende'', 1968 * ''Creative Evangelism: towards a new Christian encounter with Africa'', 1968 * ''God: Ancestor or Creator? Aspects of traditional belief in Ghana, Nigeria & Sierra Leone'', 1970 * (ed. J. Paratt) '' The Practice of Presence: Selected Papers of Harry Sawyerr'', 1995

References

1909 births 1986 deaths Anglican theologians Fourah Bay College alumni Sierra Leonean Anglicans Sierra Leone Creole people Alumni of St John's College, Durham Academic staff of Fourah Bay College {{SierraLeone-bio-stub