The Sierra Leone Web


Trap in the farm fence (fufu or gbaisansa)
For cutting-grass, porcupines or squirrels

Two sticks, called pwin kכnε, are placed in a gap in the fence. The distance between them is measured by the distance between the finger and the thumb.


Two more sticks are placed in front of the original two, spaced up to an inch away.



Two crosspieces are placed behind each pair of vertical sticks. All are then tied together with raffia twine.



A trapstick (gbaikכnε), made from one flexible sapling or two tied together, is pounded into the ground. Around the top, a string is tied. The other end is tied to a short stick (pεŋga). The noose (gbai yuu), made from wire, is attached to the top.


Another stick (kככsa) is laid horizontally at the bottom of the trap. The pεŋga is then inserted with the top in front of the kaŋgai but behind the kככsa, under tension so that when the kככsa is pushed down the pεŋga will snap forward and release the trapstick. The noose is suspended between the two kaŋgai, behind or beside the pεŋga, so that on release the pεŋga will not be ensnared in the noose and allow the animal to escape.



Snare near a hole
For rats and squirrels

Needed: A short forked stick with one prong longer than the other. A trapstick, with a cord tied to the top. The bottom of the cord should have a slipknot noose, and not far from the top, a short stick (1-1/2 - inches) should be tied.

The kaŋgai, secured but unset.





Trap is set, as with gbaida. The noose is spread out around the perimeter of the hold. The kככsa is attached to some food, such as cassava, so that the rat, nibbling on it in the hole, will pull it, releasing the pεŋga and the trap stock. The noose will snare the animal on the opposite side of the stick where the cord it drawn.


"Neck rope"
For deer

The trapstick should be long and thick, and not securedly fasted in the ground. The animal will then drag it along, leaving a trail and probably getting stuck somewhere. A firmly rooted stick might break, allowing the animal to escape. Another light stick is used to hold up the other side of the noose. The trap is placed across a “kpee”, a path used by animals.



Yamba Gbai
"Leaf trap"
For rats

This snare can be made either with the rope-like leaves of the palm tree or with bush rope m ade from vine fibers.

[Step 1] Twist the rope around the four fingers of your hand, forming two loops. With the end of the rope, fasten the loops to one end of a strong, flexible stick.

[Step 2] Turn one loop at right angles inside the other, and rotate both 1/8 turn in opposite directions, so that they cross the stick diagonally.

[Step 3] Take a second rope and pass it through the two loops from side to side. Tie the ends of the rope in a slip knot and bend the stick double. Tie the free end of the rope to the other end of the stick. The loop of the slip knot now overlaps the two original loops when the stick is tightly bent.

[Step 4] Tie a third rope three inches or so below the loops on the same side as the second rope. Tie a small loop at the other end of the rope. Pass this end around the other end of the stick and pull it tight, until the three loops overlap to form a single hole. Bring the loop end of the third rope arond and pass a bit of the rope inside the loop. Secure the rope under tension by inserting a small palm kernel to use as bait.

[ Step 5] Take a large leave and fold it in half from the third rope upward. Tie it in place. Its purposeis to force the rat to approach the bait through the loops in the rope. When the bait is taken, the ends of the stick will spring apart, snaring the rat in the rope's coils.

CAUTION shold be used when setting this snare, as an accidental release of the trap stick could cause an eye injury.