By Guest Contributor

Monrovia- August 30, 2020: Liberia has many unique cultural heritage that makes its citizens especially those of traditional orientation know and appreciate their identity. Every ethnic group is one way or the order associates with a public mask dancer or bush master we refer to as ‘devil’. Such cultural heritage or identity is considered sacred according to the custom and traditional practices of a given ethnic group.
True to such acknowledgment, the Gio or Dan ethnic group is generally noted for one of its respectable values which is the ‘Long Devil or Gio Devil’ that makes rare public appearance when it is requested to do so by those in charge. Should the mask dancer appears in public, it has a principle goal which is to perform to the delight of the public and gets appreciated with gifts from individuals who probably enjoyed it’s performance.
Of late, a mask dancer often dressed by himself with support from one of two individuals is regularly seen roaming street corners of Monrovia on begging spree something that is far from what the ones do in Nimba County. This habit by a two men team mostly seen in Sinkor and ELWA Junction is eroding the beautiful Dan/Gio heritage. Their action is absolutely an embarrassment to us who are members of tribe and I am calling upon all well meaning citizens of Nimba County residents in Monrovia to immediately engage the Nimba Legislative Caucus to prevail on authorities of the Cultural Divisions of both Ministries of Internal Affairs and Information to discourage these two individuals who are often found in the street under the pretext of being ‘Gio Devil’ begging for money. No where in Nimba County can a two man conduct such a show without the expressed consent of the tribal authorities which must be at a specific ceremony or festival.
While I respect the promotion of our traditional cultural heritage, it must not be on the basis of commercialization which may make it lose its value.