Kissi people
 | This article needs more citations. (August 2020) |
mano | |
|---|---|
 Orchestra of Kissi musicians in 1900 | |
| Total population | |
| c. 1,224,545 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Guinea | 798,429 (6.2%)[1] |
 Liberia | 250,273 (4.8%)[2] |
 Sierra Leone | 175,843 (4.5%) [3] |
| Languages | |
| Kissi, French, English, Krio | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Traditional, Islam[4] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mende people, Loma people, Kpelle people, Mano people, Kono people, Vai people, Gbandi people | |
The Kissi people are a West African ethnolinguistic group.[5] They are the fourth largest ethnic group in Guinea, making up 6.2% of the population.[6] Kissi people are also found in Liberia and Sierra Leone. They speak the Kissi language, which belongs to the Mel branch of the Niger–Congo language family.[7] The Kissi are well known for making baskets and weaving on vertical looms. In past times, they were also famous for their ironworking skills, as the country and its neighbors possessed rich iron deposits. Kissi smiths produced the "Kissi penny."
The Kissi people are also called Assi, Bakoa, Den, Gihi, Gisi, Gissi, Gizi, Kisi, Kisia, Kisie, Kisiye, Kizi, or Kalen[8][9]
History
[edit]According to The Peoples of Africa, Kissi tradition considers that before the seventeenth century, they inhabited the Upper Niger region. Supposedly, they lived south of the Futa Jallon until the Yalunka people expelled them. After 1600, they migrated westward, expelling the Limbas in their march, but were under constant threat from the Kurankos.[10]
Resistance to French conquest by Kissi Kaba Keita
[edit]In Guinea, the Kissi warrior Kissi Kaba Keita managed to unite many Kissi chiefdoms under his reign and resist French conquest for many years. Before French attacks, he had rallied the Kurankos of Morige and the Leles of Yombiro. When the French arrived in 1892, he had to let the relatively autonomous chiefs of the respective areas defend themselves. Due to the French's technological superiority, Kissi Kaba resorted mainly to guerilla tactics, thus delaying their conquest of his kingdom. Still, by 1893, he realized that his resistance would fail and subjected himself to the French, who recognized him as chief of the northern Kissi territory. However, his relationship with the French gradually worsened, leading to them appointing his rivals in several of his chiefdoms and eventually to his execution in Siguiri.
Religion and spiritual beliefs
[edit]Although many Kissi have converted to Christianity, most continue practicing their traditional ethnic religion. Ancestor worship or praying to deceased relatives is common among the Kissi. The Kissi people produced many carved soapstone figures and heads before colonial contact with the Europeans. It is unclear why they were made; some scholars argue that they form part of ancestor worship, while others say they may represent gods to increase agricultural yields. A large number can be seen in the British Museum's collection.[11]
Surnames
[edit]- Balladouno
- Beindouno
- Bengoutieno
- Boakai
- Bolossiandouno
- Bongono
- Bongouno
- Bouédouno
- Boundouno
- Bourouno
- Bramadouno
- Cécémadouno
- Danfagadouno
- Dembadouno
- Doufangadouno
- Dougbouno
- Dougouno
- Douno
- Doussandouno
- Fallah
- Fancinadouno
- Fangadouno
- Fangamadouno
- Fayiah
- Feindouno
- Foryoh
- Fouédouno
- Foulo
- Frangadouno
- Fremessadouno
- Gbandélno
- Iffono
- Irandouno
- Kabadouno
- Kadouno
- Kagbadouno
- Kakpadouno
- Kamano
- Kamadouno
- Kambadouno
- Kambedouno
- Kandawadouno
- Kankadouno
- Kankodouno
- Kantabadouno
- Kantambadouno
- Kassadouno
- Kassossodouno
- Késsémadouno
- Kikano
- Kogbadouno
- Kombadouno
- Komano
- Kondano
- Kondiano
- Kondouno
- Koniono
- Kotémbadouno
- Kotémbèdouno
- Koumassadouno
- Koumbadouno
- Koundiano
- Koundouno
- Kouteno
- Lélano
- Léno
- Malano
- Mamadouno
- Mamboliano
- Mandouno
- Mano
- Mansadouno
- Massadouno
- Massandouno
- Millimono
- Millimouno
- Mongono
- Moudékéno
- Moundékéno
- Moussatèmbèdouno
- Nyumah
- Oliano
- Ouamono
- Ouamouno
- Ouéndeno
- Ouéndouno
- Sagno
- Sandouno
- Saninkoundouno
- Sayadouno
- Sayandouno
- Semadouno
- Sembèno
- Sevadouno
- Sewadouno
- Simbiano
- Solano
- Somadouno
- Somodouno
- Sondouno
- Songbono
- Sossoadouno
- Sossouadouno
- Souadouno
- Soumadouno
- Soumano
- Soyadouno
- Soyandouno
- Tagbino
- Tamba
- Tambadouno
- Tédouno
- Teliano
- Tèmbèdouno
- Tèmèssadouno
- Teinguiano
- Teinkiano
- Tiguiano
- Togbadouno
- Togbodouno
- Toguiano
- Tolno
- Tonguino
- Toumadouno
- Toumandouno
- Toundoufédouno
- Toundouno
- Tounguino
- Woromadouno
- Woromandouno
- Yassadou
- Yaradouno
- Yarandouno
- Yilandouno
- Yokrodouno
- Yombouno
- Youmbouno
- Zéno
Notable Kissi people
[edit]- Joseph Boakai, Liberian politician & current President of Liberia [12]
- Henri Camara, Senegalese footballer
- Maxime Camara, Guinean footballer
- Benjamin Feindouno, Guinean footballer
- Pascal Feindouno, Guinean footballer
- Simon Feindouno, Guinean footballer
- Kai Abdul Foday, former Sierra Leonean politician
- Tamba Hali, Liberian and former defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs
- Elie Kamano, Guinean musician
- François Kamano, Guinean footballer
- Victor Kantabadouno, Guinean footballer
- Sahr Senesie, German footballer
- Kissi Kaba Keita, a warrior who resisted French conquest from 1892
- Claude Kory Kondiano, Guinean politician and former Speaker of the House from 13 January 2014 to 22 April 2020.
- Augustine Kortu, Sierra Leonean politician
- Sékou Koundouno, Guinean activist
- Kai Londo, Kissi warrior in southern Sierra Leone.
- Jean Paul Millimono, Guinean musician
- Faya Lansana Millimouno, Guinean politician
- Tom Nyuma, a retired colonel in the Sierra Leonean Armed Forces and the current council chair of Kailahun District
- Tamba Borbor-Sawyer, Sierra Leonean politician and a retired officer in the Sierra Leone Police.
- Emmanuel Tolno, Guinean footballer
- Sia Tolno, Guinean musician
- Koumba Aviane Tonguino, Guinean musician
References
[edit]- ↑ "Guinea - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 18 June 2021.[dead link]
- ↑ "Liberia - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ↑ "Sierra Leone 2015 Population and Housing Census National Analytical Report" (PDF). Statistics Sierra Leone. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ↑ "Liberia Liberia Ethnicity". hub.arcgis.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ↑ Peter Austin (2008). One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost. University of California Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0520-25-560-9.
- ↑ "The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". Cia.gov. Retrieved 26 December 2020.[dead link]
- ↑ Bankole Kamara Taylor (2014). Sierra Leone: The Land, Its People and History. New Africa Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-9987-16-038-9.
- ↑ George Tucker Childs (22 July 2011). A Grammar of Kisi. Walter de Gruyter. p. 1. ISBN 978-3110-81-088-2.
- ↑ "Kissi (peuple d'Afrique) - Rameau - Resources from the BnF". data.bnf.fr. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ James Stuart Olsen (1996). The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. p. 290. ISBN 978-0313-27-918-8.
- ↑ "Collection | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ "Liberia's new president takes office with a promise to 'rescue' Africa's oldest republic". Associated Press News. 22 January 2024.
External links
[edit]
- For spirits and kings: African art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman collection, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on the Kissi people
- http://www.gateway-africa.com/tribe/Kissi_tribe.html
