no secret of the fact. Against the backdrop of widespread violence during the Liberian civil war, reports of ritual murder and cannibalism seem scarcely to rise to the level of newsworthiness. Yet the inhabitants of the Cape Palmas region have been repeatedly characterized since at least 1668 as having this practice culturally entrenched among themselves. Considering the practice's links to Liberian internal politics and secret societies (Leopard Men), which cut across all social strata, and considering also a sensational legal proceeding in Maryland county in 1977, there is no reason to hope that the practice or its associated belief system has abated or been extirpated. This is not intended to convey the impression that such practices are limited to this area of Africa alone. References Bibliography [HDS] Herzog, George. "Drum Signaling in a West African Tribe," Word 1:217-38, 1945. Reprinted in: Language in Culture and Society, pp. 312–23. Ed. Dell Hymes. New York, 1964. [H&B] Herzog, George, and Charles G. Blooah. Jabo Proverbs from Liberia: Maxims in the Life of a Native Tribe. London, Pub. for the International Institute of African Languages & Cultures by Oxford University Press, H. Milford, 1936. [ETH] Gordon, Raymond G., Jr., editor. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International, 2005. Online version: . [I&D] Ingemann, Frances, and John Duitsman. "A Survey of Grebo Dialects in Liberia," Liberian Studies Journal, 7(2):121–131, 1976. [JHG] Greenberg, Joseph H., The Languages of Africa. Indiana Univ. Press, 1966). [H&J] Hasselbring, Sue and Eric Johnson. A sociolinguistic survey of the Grebo language area of Liberia. SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2002-074, 2002. Online version: . [SNG] Sapir, Edward. "Notes on the Gweabo Language of Liberia," Language, 7:30–41, 1931. [S&B] Sapir, Edward, With Charles G. Blooah. "Some Gweabo Proverbs," Africa, 2:183–185, 1929. [NST] Trubetskoy, Nikolai S. Grundzüge der Phonologie. (Principles of Phonology). Travaux du Cercle Linguistique de Prague, 7). Prague, 1939. [WPA] WPA Federal Writers' Project. Life History Manuscripts from the Folklore Project, 1936–1940. Online version: Library of Congress American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 – 1940, Item 27 of 312 (Nebraska), "Charles Blooah" . External links Maryland in Liberia, U.S. Navy map from 1853 in the Library of Congress,: . Topographic reference map of Grand Kru County as of 2003-09-18: . Ethnography Ethnic groups in Liberia Cannibalism in Africa Districts of Liberia