![Homme-léopard (Tervueren)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Homme-l%C3%A9opard_%28Tervueren%29.jpg)
The Leopard Society (not to be confused with
Ekpe
Ekpe, also known as Mgbe/Egbo (Ekoi language: ''leopard''; derived from the Ibibio term for the same), is a West African secret society in Nigeria and Cameroon flourishing chiefly among the Efiks. It is also found among a number of other ethni ...
), was a secret society that originated in Sierra Leone.
[ Beatty, p.3] It was believed that members of the society could transform into
leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
s through the use of witchcraft.
The earliest reference to the society in historical literature can be found in George Banbury's "Sierra Leone: or the white man's grave" (1888).
The society brought fear to many parts of the world.
History
The Leopard Society was a
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
n secret society active in the early to mid-20th century. They were originally centred in
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
but spread to other countries such as
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
,
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
and
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
Among the Efik of Calabar, they were known as Mforoekpe and were dreaded.
Members would dress in
leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
skins, waylaying travelers with sharp claw-like weapons in the form of leopards' claws and teeth. The victims' flesh would be cut from their bodies and distributed to members of the secret society. According to their beliefs, the ritual cannibalism would strengthen both members of the secret society as well as their entire tribe.
According to scholar
Stephen Ellis:
These were exclusive groups of people who were believed to be liable to possession by the spirits of carnivorous animals such as leopards and crocodiles, and who carried out ritual killing
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, ...
s while in a state of possession. During the course of the twentieth century, the Liberian government
The Politics of Liberia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic modeled on the government of the United States, whereby the President is the head of state and head of government; unlike the United States, ...
outlawed these societies, but some of them nevertheless continued to function clandestinely...
Encounters with what is believed to be a survival of the Leopard Society into the post-colonial era are described by Donald MacIntosh and Beryl Bellman.
In fiction
Fictionalized versions of the Leopard Society feature in the
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
novel ''
Tarzan and the Leopard Men
''Tarzan and the Leopard Men'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the eighteenth in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was serialized in ''The Blue Book Magazine'' from August 1932 to January 193 ...
'', in
Willard Price
Willard DeMille Price (28 July 1887 – 14 October 1983) was a Canadian-born American traveller, journalist and author.
Early life
Price was born to a family of devout Methodism, Methodists in Peterborough, Ontario. When he was four years ol ...
's ''
African Adventure'', in
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...
's ''
Tintin au Congo'' and in
Hugo Pratt
Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as ''Corto Maltese''. He was indu ...
's ''Le Etiopiche''.
An alternate, more egalitarian version of the Leopard Society appears in the "
Nsibidi Script" series by
Nnedi Okorafor
Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian-American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels ''Who Fears ...
.
Robert E. Howard also mentions them in his horror/detective short stor
"Black Talons"
A different take of the Leopard Men appears in ''
The Legend of Tarzan''. This version of the group are actually leopards that were magically uplifted by
La.
A fictional incarnation also appears in the 2016 film ''
The Legend of Tarzan''. It is led by a
chieftain
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...
named Mbonga (portrayed by the
Beninois
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
actor
Djimon Honsou
Djimon Gaston Hounsou (; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos. He made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990) and earned widespread recognition for his role as ...
) whose son was killed by Tarzan.
Léon Rom
Léon Auguste Théophile Rom (1859–1924) was a Belgian soldier and colonial official who became prominent in the administration of the Congo Free State during the late 19th century.
Career
Léon Rom was born to a poor family in Mons, Belgium, i ...
later cut a deal with Mbonga where he would draw Tarzan to him in exchange for the diamonds on his land. When Tarzan and Mbonga duel, the latter learns that his son was responsible for killing
Kala
Kala or Kalah may refer to:
Religion Hinduism
*Kāla, a Sanskrit word meaning ''time''
*Kāla, a Hindu deity of time, destiny, death and destruction closely related to Yama and Shiva.
*Kalā, a Sanskrit word meaning ''performing arts''
* Kala Bo, ...
. As the
Mangani
''Mangani'' is the name of a fictional species of great apes in the Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and of the invented language used by these apes. In the invented language, ''Mangani'' (meaning "great-ape") is the apes' word for their own ...
hold the rest of the Leopard Society at bay, Tarzan defeats Mbonga and spares his life as Mbonga weeps over the fact that he and Tarzan each lost someone they loved.
In art
A representation of leopard-men–the inspiration for Hergé's ''Tintin au Congo''–is the sculpture group in one of the large exhibition halls of the
Royal Museum for Central Africa
The Royal Museum for Central Africa or RMCA ( nl, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika or KMMA; french: Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale or MRAC; german: Königliches Museum für Zentralafrika or KMZA), also officially known as the AfricaMuse ...
,
Tervuren
Tervuren () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636. The total a ...
, commissioned by the Belgium Ministry of Colonies from artist Paul Wissaert and acquired by the museum in 1913.
See also
*
Crocodile Society
The Crocodile Society was a West African secret society that practised cannibalism. The Crocodile Society existed in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Mitchell, Harry (2002) Remote Corners: A Sierra Leone Memoir The Rad ...
*
Poro society
References
Sources
*''The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies & Fraternal Orders'', Alan Axelrod, 1997, Checkmark Books
*
*
*
*{{cite book , last=Aye , first=Efiong U. , title=A learner's dictionary of the Efik Language, Volume 1, location=Ibadan , publisher=Evans Brothers Ltd , year=1991 , isbn=9781675276 , ref=refAye1991
External links
The Leopard Society in the Nimba Range and at the Kru coastHuman Leopards: An account of the trials of human leopards before the special commission court: With a note on Sierra Leone, Past and present
African secret societies
Cannibalism in Africa
Social history of Liberia
History of Sierra Leone
History of Ivory Coast