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The Kissi are strictly a language group that is
spread across modern Sierra Leone, and includes
other tribes such as the Bassa, Sapi, Temne,
Toma and Grebo. The group, which technically
also includes the Mende tribe, is known in art-
history circles as the Sapi-Grebo. The Sapi
kingdom used to include some of these tribes,
but was subsumed under the Manes people in
the 16th century. They, the Mende and the Sapi
all have different ways of dealing with these
figures when they appear, although they are
important for each tribe. The modern tribes are
mainly rice farmers, with vegetable gardens and
some livestock (notably cows, which are
considered as sacred, and reserved for
sacrifices). Villages tend to be small, and run by
members of the Poro society; a system of
gerontocracy is also in operation. Most of the
Kissi have converted to Christianity, but a
notable proportion adhere to traditional belief
that are centred around Pombo, Mahen Yafe and
Nomoli figures, which are dug up in the fields
and revered as ancestors (Pombo – the generic
name for these items – literally means “the
deceased”) or “rice gods”.
As the items are typically out of their context,
little is known of the way they were carved and
used by their original societies. It has been
claimed that they are a localised offshoot of early
Portuguese incursions into the area (15th – 16th
century), but there is little stylistic or historic
basis in fact to support this assertion. The Sapi
kingdom may also have been involved in making
of some classes of figure. The major distinctions
between the figure are that the Mahen Yafe are
primarily heads adorned with unusual facial hair
and jewellery, while the Pombo (as called by the
Mende) figures have crested hairstyles and filed
teeth. The Nomoli are very much as depicted by
the current piece, although they are sometimes
bearded. The only ray of data regarding age is a
radiometric date on a rare wooden piece, which
yielded a date between 1190 and 1394, although
the fact this is an isolate, and without context,
makes its validity questionable.
The role of these pieces is, as stated, uncertain.
The more ornate ones probably represent chiefs,
while the less anthropomorphic probably
represent spirits. As there is no strong evidence
to suggest that there was major population
replacement, however, it is possible that the
ancient populations were ancestral to modern
Kissi groups, and that certain parallels can be
drawn between them. The modern Kissi are
highly superstitious, and live in fear of the
supernatural. They have talismans to protect
them from the unknown, and especially from
witches. Their treatment of statues reflects this
tendency. So it is possible that the figures, while
far from their original context, are in fact being
used much in the way that they were intended to
be.
- (DZ.015)
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