Mende form 31.2% of Sierra Leone population behind Temne at 35.5%. Politics splits between Mende-backed SLPP and Temne-Limba APC. Mende originated from 16th-century Mane warriors conquering and mixing with Bullom natives. Mende speak Mande language with layered hunter-fisher and warrior influences. Mende divide into five clans including Kpa-Mende and Golah-Mende. Villages hold 70-250 people using hoes and machetes for rice farming. Men clear land, women weed, fish, pound rice in gender-divided labor. Mende practice patrilineal patrilocal polygamy with senior male authority. Poro society initiates boys into manhood over seven years with secret language. Revealing Poro secrets counts as greatest sin. Mende show more Poro society prevalence than Temne. Sande society initiates all pubescent girls teaching modesty and work. Sande performs clitoridectomy foreshadowing childbirth pain and testing endurance. Clitoridectomy bonds initiates and removes female maleness residue. Girls whipped for dance errors and forced to dance 48 hours. Non-Sande women called kpowa meaning stupid fool or insane. Female paramount chiefs comprised 15-20% in pre-colonial era. Madam Yoko ruled vast Kpa Mende Confederacy as recognized chief. Mende women rise to power as senior wives or Sande heads. Mende invented Kikakui script in 1917 that later failed. Prominent Mende include multiple prime ministers, war criminals, and footballers.