SHUKUBLAI STORIES

In the early 19th century, Liberated Africans in Waterloo village received medical attention through a mixture of colonial institutions, Christian missions, and community healers. 

I 

Because Waterloo was founded in 1819 primarily to resettle disbanded soldiers and Africans rescued from illegal slave ships, its medical infrastructure evolved alongside the British anti-slavery efforts. 

How They Received Medical Attention

Medical care for the Liberated Africans in Waterloo was distributed through three primary avenues:

* The Liberated African Department (LAD):


The colonial government operated the Liberated African Department, which was responsible for the initial triage of freed individuals. When captured slave vessels arrived in Freetown, the sickest individuals were treated at regional hub hospitals like Kissy Hospital before being distributed to rural villages. Once in Waterloo, the LAD provided a small daily stipend for six months, basic shelter, and minimal medical supervision via touring assistant colonial surgeons or local superintendents. 

* The Village Dispensary:


Over time, the village established a localized government dispensary to manage endemic tropical illnesses like malaria, yellow fever, and dysentery. These early dispensaries relied heavily on standard 19th-century colonial medical kits, utilizing imported treatments like James’s Powders (an antimonial febrifuge used to break fevers) and quinine. 

* Missionary Societies & Local Healers:
The British government heavily relied on the Church Missionary Society (CMS) to administer the daily affairs of the Liberated African villages. 

Missionaries acted as makeshift doctors and nurses, treating wounds, distributing smallpox vaccinations, and organizing basic sanitation. Concurrently, because European medical knowledge of tropical diseases was highly limited and often experimental, many Liberated Africans relied on traditional African herbal medicine and community healers within Waterloo.

When They Received Medical Attention

The timeline of medical intervention was dictated by the waves of settlement:

* 1819–1830s (Immediate Post-Settlement):
Medical attention during this era was reactionary and chaotic. Thousands of Liberated Africans were routed to Waterloo. Care was mostly managed by the village superintendent (often a military officer or missionary) who distributed rations and basic medicine supplied by Freetown. 

* 1840s (Systematized Dispensaries):
By the 1840s, a localized dispensary system was firmly operational in Waterloo, though the Liberated African Department began shrinking during this decade as the trans-Atlantic trade slowed down. 

* Late 19th Century (Rise of African Doctors):
By the latter half of the century, the descendants of these Liberated Africans (the Krio elite) began traveling to Britain to study medicine. Notably, Dr. Sylvester Cole, born in Waterloo village, graduated with a medical degree from Aberdeen in 1883, symbolizing a shift where the community began producing its own highly qualified medical professionals.

Writer: Boyd George

Background 

Wooden houses, or Bode ose as it is known in Sierra Leone,  came about when freed slaves were repatriated from the USA, Jamaica, Nova Scotia and the UK to Freetown, mainly from Louisiana, and they copied the style of the  Southern American in the 1800s. Timber was made available due to the fallen trees from the forest mixed with stones quarried from the mountain by skilled stonemasons by the Maroons from Jamaica. 

The Bode ose is one of the Krio identities in Sierra Leone,  a semblance of the Krio heritage and a symbol of Krio identity, serving not only as communal living houses but also as symbols of independence and self-sufficiency.

‘For the liberated slaves, Freetown was an emblem of the possibility of self-governance, ownership and dignity, which was denied to them under the yoke of slavery,’ wrote the late Akintola J.G. Wyse, a history professor at Fourah Bay College in Freetown, in his book The Krio of Sierra Leone.

There are two types of wooden houses (Bode ose) in Freetown.

1.One flat bungalow(butoo- mi-luk)

2. Two-story (Up Garet 

Two-storey (Up and Garrett or Foster Gloucester) — likely referring to the phrase "up and garret," where a garret is a top-floor or attic room directly under the roof of a house. This expression can describe a person living in or retreating to these small spaces, or it can be a variation of "up and go."

The roof's design:

Steep-Pitched Roofs: Roofs were steeply sloped and originally built with wooden shingles (later corrugated iron) to quickly shed water during storms

.

*Roofs* 

Slate Roof

Slate was imported from the UK as roofing material. While traditional timber shingles and slate were initially used, most modern roofs on surviving Bode Ose structures employ zinc and corrugated iron, also imported.

* *Zinc Corrugated Roofs - Pan Roof** 

The pan roof corrugated system, often called a box profile or pan tile roof, consists of flat bottom channels ("pans") bordered by raised vertical or trapezoidal ribs. Unlike typical wavy corrugated sheets, this profile provides increased rigidity, improved water drainage, and can be installed on roofs with pitches as low as 2 degrees. ("pans") Flanked by raised vertical or trapezoidal ribs, which offer greater rigidity, better water drainage, and allow installation on lower roof pitches.

*Bamboo Roof* :

Most of the bungalow one-flat roofs were covered with bamboo straws.

These are eco-friendly, sustainable coverings utilising bamboo poles, mats, or shingles. It is highly valued for its lightweight structure, natural thermal insulation, and aesthetic appeal. Depending on the style, it can give a rustic tropical finish or a sleek, modern architectural look. When these bamboos were replaced, as children, we used to request those bamboos to make kites, mostly during Easter before it rains in April or May.

Front and Back - Verandas/Porches:

Most of these houses had front and back verandas, which are roofed, open-air porches attached to the front and exterior of the building. They serve as sheltered bridges between indoor living and the outdoor domestic yard.

The front veranda is the house's main entrance and is mostly used by visitors and strangers. In most houses, it is furnished with a bench or chair for resting. At times, you must climb five or six stairs into the front and back verandas.

The back veranda is a private space for domestic use by the family or occupants.

*The Compound Layout:* 

Most Krio compounds are fenced either by wooden sticks (fence tick), wire mesh, cement blocks ('bock fench'), or corrugated metal sheets (pan fench) with a gate in the front. Historically, these gates were fitted with locks and bells at the back. These bells alert residents when someone is at the gate or has entered the compound.

Entering the compound involves a pathway leading to the front porch and backyard. Along both sides of the footpath are lined with cockle shells, stones, or bottles buried upside down, with stone gravel on the pathway to prevent slipping. Near the front veranda, there is a small garden of flowers. The footpath to the back is separated by a fence from the front part of the compound, with a connecting gate to the communal area where domestic work is done.

*Layout of the Communal Area:* 

This courtyard acts as a communal space for daily activities and social gatherings, echoing traditional village layouts of West Africa. This area, called the backyard in Krio, where we have rows of benches for people to sit, also includes:

1. A well

2. A kitchen

3. A domestic area for food preparation 

4. Latrine ( Lillie ose)

5. Bathroom( wash yard)

6. A separate laundry area

7. An area for washing kitchen utensils, crockery, and cutlery

8. Stables or living quarters for servants. In wealthier compounds,

9. A dog shed or house 

*The kitchen* 

IN some settings,s mainly the bungalows,s the kitchen is situated at the back of the house, whilst in the compound where the two-story Ose is, the kitchen is situated at the far end of the compound. It has a door and two windows. 

Inside the kitchen building, we have 2 sets of fireplaces called "fire sie", which comprises three stones each where the pots usually rest for cooking. Over the fire sie is a shelf for smoking fish and fermenting sesame seed(ogirie)

At the far corner of the kitchen is a kitchen table where the pots are retired after cooking,g and the plates and baskets. Just by the entrance to the kitchen is the granite stone big (mammy) and small pekin,l for grinding pepper, melon seed (ogusii) and onions.

*Domestic Vegetable Garden* 

In most Krio compounds, at the far end of the yard, just at the back of the kitchen, is a small domestic garden where residents of the compound grow vegetables like spring onions, peppers, water leaves (bologie), basil (patmenjie), and potato leaves, to name a few. These vegetables come in handy for impromptu cooking.

*Under cellar* 

In a typical Krio boardhouse (bode ose) in Freetown, we have what we call under cellars. These under cellars consist of foundational lower levels built from locally quarried ironstones or mortar bricks and limestones. These stone foundation bases elevate the timber-board living structures to protect them against torrential seasonal rains and dampness. These foundations raised the wooden floor about three to four feet or higher off the damp ground.

Nevertheless, some ethnic groups rent these cellars and reside there with their families.

*Entrance into the bode ose* 

The front part of the compound, as mentioned, features a front porch with about six steps leading to the front door. Some of these verandas are rectangular with two windows and two chairs by the windows for visitors to sit or rest.

*Windows and the trellises* 

The windows of a Krio bode ose feature shuttered wooden or glass windows paired with decorative timber. Behind these windows are trellises. A trellis is a setup that stops direct lines of sight from neighbours or streets while allowing you to enjoy a lush, green view from inside. Trellis frames and fretwork that provide tropical ventilation, and it's through these trellises the Krio hide behind, snooping on their neighbours and activities in the street unseeny (busybody).

The interior 

In some houses there are two living rooms/parlours. One in the front is private for visitors, and the one at the back is for domestic use where children sit or play and also study.

The front parlour is well furnished, and in most houses there is a guest room just opposite the front door on the other side of the living room.  There is an arch that separates the front and back living rooms. In the back living room are two rooms, and the first room has a connecting door that links to the front guest room. The back parlour is also furnished but not as the front living room.  Walking towards the back is a space that leads either to the back door or upstairs.  The back door leads you to the back veranda; just at the back veranda is a room mostly called a dining room or a pantry for the storage of plates, baskets and various household equipment. It's also fitted with a dining table, and there is also a connecting door between the 3rd room and the dining room that leads to the space at the back.

*Upstairs Second floor (Up* Garet)

The second floor of the house is accessible through the back entrance of the house, 

Access Point

Internal Stairs: Located inside the main living space, leading from the ground/first level up.

External Rear Stairs: Often enclosed in wooden latticework at the back of the structure for privacy and ventilation.

The second floor of a traditional Krio bode ose (board house) in Freetown typically features private family spaces, including bedrooms and an upper veranda or balcony. 

Layout and Features of the Upper Floor

*Private Bedrooms*: Smaller partitioned timber rooms used as sleeping quarters for the family.

These are about 3 double rooms and a single room with a small box room for storage. 

*Central Hallway*: This is about 8 to 12 feet wide, which is a narrow connecting passage linking the rooms to the staircase coming from the ground floor.  room.  Along this passage lined dining chairs for visitors to sit on one side. On the walls hung family photos and those of the King or Queen of England's wedding and coronation. 

*Upper Landing/Porch*: Is an open or covered wooden-railing porch overlooking the backyard, designed to catch cooling breezes. On these landings stands a dining table where the clay water pot stands or a standing fridge.

*The Attic - (Okey Ajah* )

At the top of the house roof sits the attic or the Okey Ajah. This is the space or room directly beneath the pitched roof and above the top-floor ceiling. It typically features sloping angles and exposed wooden beams. This space is also used for storage of old seasonal items or housing furniture like chairs, carpets, etc. It is accessible using a ladder through the attic hatch.

By George Boyd-Campbell 

KDU London 

Heritage secretary