The Tribal Communities and Tribal Administration

In Monrovia, however, there is a tendency for occupational and religious groupings to correspond with tribal ones and so to reinforce them. The significance of tribal membership is further emphasized by the fact that little attempt has been made to impose a unified system of urban administration. New Krutown and Claratown are the most homogeneous areas in Monrovia, in terms of tribal origins, containing only a handful of persons who are not of Kru descent. Tribal heterogeneity is emphasized by what appears to be a high proportion of mixed marriages among the Bassa: of the married Bassa women in our sample, one in five, a considerably higher proportion than in any other tribal group, had married outside the tribe. The Kpelle and Loma, who form the fourth and last of the main tribal groups in Monrovia, are mainly newcomers to the capital and have no officially established community there.