Hale is defined as a religiolegal institution, a sodality, a secret society. In West African societies, there are two great hale: Poro for men and Sande for women. The societies exist to serve the needs of the community, but only initiated Poro and Sande members are permitted to attend the secret ceremonies.

Ntu is a complex philosophical concept in African societies. From a ntulogical platform, there is no real distinction between sacred and secular; hence, theology, politics, social theory, land law, medicine, psychology, birth, and burial are all logically concatenated in a system so tight that to subtract one item is to paralyze the structure of the whole. Hence, members of Poro societies are concerned with all aspects of social life, which include the individual, family, ...