- Leopard Society
The Leopard Society were a
West Africa n society active in the early- to mid-1900s that practicedcannibalism . [citeweb|url=http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/RitualKillings1900_1950b.htm|title=The Leopard Society - Africa in the mid 1900s|accessdate=3 April|accessyear=2008] They were centred inSierra Leone ,Liberia andCôte d'Ivoire .Members would dress in
leopard 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 society. In theory, the ritual cannibalism would strengthen both members of the society as well as their entire tribe.In fiction
* A fictional version of the Leopard Society was featured in the
Tarzan novel "Tarzan and the Leopard Men ".
* The Leopard Society also appeared in the book "African Adventure ".External links
* [http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/RitualKillings1900_1950a.htm The Leopard Society in the Nimba Range and at the Kru coast]
* [http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/RitualKillings1900_1950b.htm 1900-1950: The Leopard Society in 'Vai country' in Bassaland]References
*"The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies & Fraternal Orders", Alan Axelrod, 1997, Checkmark Books
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
