Abstract
The chapter presents and evaluates the main arguments for and against the use of tradition-based approaches in the context of contemporary armed conflicts that are put forward in the theoretical and empirical literature in the field of conflict resolution. It focuses specifically on the role of traditional reconciliation practices in the efforts at rebuilding Sierra Leonean communities after the civil war.
It explores three areas where international and local actors employed tradition-based reconciliation and cleansing ceremonies and rituals in order to facilitate the reconciliation process - the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the child ex-combatants reintegration programmes and a local initiative called Fambul Tok.