Bai Bureh - Early Life

Early Life

Bai Bureh was born in 1840 in Kasseh, a village near Port Loko in Northern Sierra Leone. His first name, Bai, means Chief in the Temne language. Bureh's father was an important ] and his mother was a Temne trader from Makeni. When Bureh was a young man his father sent him to the small village of Gbendembu in northern Sierra Leone, where he was trained to become a warrior. During his training at the village, he showed that he was a formidable warrior and was given the nickname of Kebalai which translates as ‘one who doesn’t tire of war’. When Kebalai return to his home village, he was crowned ruler of Kasseh.

During the 1860s and 1870s, Bureh had become the top warrior of Port Loko and the entire Northern Province. He successfully fought and won wars against other villagers and tribal leaders who were against his plan to establish correct islamic and indigenous practices throughout Northern Sierra Leone. In 1882, Bureh fought against the Susu people from French Guinea (now Guinea) who invaded Kambia, a town in northern Sierra Leone. Bai Bureh's fighters defeated the Susu, pushed them back into French Guinea and returned the land to the local Kambia people. After winning several major wars, his popularity spread. The people of the northern province felt they had found a warrior who would defend their land. In 1886, Bai Bureh was crowned as the chief of Northern Sierra Leone.