Vai (ethnicity)

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Vai members

The Vai are an ethnic group resident in the West African countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone . Only about 1200 Vai live in Sierra Leone (as of 2015).

They are known for their syllabary system - the Vai script - which was developed in the 1820s and became widely used during the 19th century until its importance declined in the 20th century. The language of the Vai is the Mande language Vai .

Known Vai

• Momolu Massaquoi (1870–1938), Vai-König and first Liberian consul general in Hamburg . The American journalist and writer Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi is his grandson.
• The writer Ernst Jünger was an honorary chief of the Vai in Liberia.

See also

• Ethnic groups in Liberia
• Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone

literature

• Raymond J. Smyke: The First African Diplomat. Momolu Massaquoi (1870-1938) . Xlibris, Philadelphia 2004, ISBN 1-4134-4580-2 , pp. 384 . content

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sierra Leone 2015 Population and Housing Census national analytical report. Statistics Sierra Leone, October 2017, p. 89ff.
2. ↑ See Hubert Spiegel : The order of things. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , November 28, 2009.