Bopolu was founding prior to 1200 AD by the ancestors of the Dei. It was a trade town where products brought from the Sahel were exchanged for their salt, which was made by boiling sea water. Originally called Taabli (“Taa’s town”), it became a regular stop for trade caravans from elsewhere in West Africa.
The town was far from the coast, where the Dei lived, so the name was changed to Bopolu because people kept complaining “bo po mole” (meaning “only foot will put you there”).
Footnote: Bureau of Folkways, 1955, p. 44. As explained by Dr. Dougbeh Nyan, the phonology of “Bopolu” in Grebo is almost identical to Dei; in Grebo “bo” is foot, “po” is put and “lu” is there.
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