86 REPORT OF THE HARVARD AFRICAN EXPEDITION 
initiated, and upon his appearance in the village, women and children are sup- 
posed to go within doors and not to try to catch a glimpse of him. The devil or 
polo namu, as he is called among the Kpwesis, is a member of the tribe and usu- 
ally an influential one. Theoretically he is supposed to be superhuman and 
never to die. Accident or death is said to be the penalty incurred by any un- 
initiated person or stranger who, whether accidentally or deliberately, lays eyes 
upon him. A great deal has been written about the devil of the bush school. 
However, much of it, so far at least as Liberia is concerned, can be considered 
as at least antiquated. For example, in spite of statements to the contrary, the 
ereat majority of adult natives, even in the interior of Liberia, do not stand in 
great fear or awe of the devil who presides over the boys’ bush school, and do 
not regard him as a supernatural being. When the devil appears he wears a 
mask usually carved out of ebony or some other hard wood, to which is attached 
long imitation hair, and he is clothed in a voluminous dress usually made of 
palm filaments or leaves. Very likely the younger children are sometimes 
frightened at his appearance. The dress of the devil varies somewhat among 
the different tribes. The unusual or grotesque mask is, however, universal. 
Among the Bassas the mask is dome-shaped and made of wicker work with a 
round, painted, black and white face. Statements to the effect that if a devil 
appears in a village, any woman, child, or stranger seeing him is lable to come 
to harm or to fall seriously ill, are obviously not borne out by the facts. 
There is a more or less definite course of initiation or education carried out in 
the bush schools, which are held at different times and in different places for the 
two sexes. The boys enter the bush school shortly before puberty, but they may 
enter at any age from seven to fifteen years. They are often urged to enter by their 
parents, and a boy may be brought to the door of the bush school by his father. 
Occasionally it is said that he is seized and brought in on the shoulders of one 
of the officials. Among some of the tribes the boys feign death just before being 
carried off to the school. In some instances they are given large amounts of palm 
wine to drink, or drugged before they are carried away. Goat’s blood or flesh is 
then later spread about to impress the bystanders with the fact that they are 
really dead. Resurrection is supposed to occur when they leave the school at 
which time they receive a new name. The length of time which the boys remain in 
the bush school is said to vary among the different tribes from several weeks to 
several years. Among the Kpwesis and Golas, it is said to be several years, but 
it seems very doubtful that they remain in them continuously any such time. 
Actually the time spent must generally be much shorter, for many attend only 
for a few months and others only for a few weeks before the final ceremonies. 
Among the Manos the girls remain merely for a few weeks. Unless the boy 
belongs to a Mohammedanized tribe, and has already been circumcised, cireum- 
cision is the rite first performed. He is then tattooed or cicatrized with a tribal 
mark, according to the method of the tribe. The Krus and Grebos have aban- 
doned circumcision and, indeed, have largely given up most of the ceremonies 
connected with the bush school. During the course of initiation at the school 
the boy is taught more or less of the mysteries of sex and his duties and responsi- 
