Kissi people
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| Total population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (774,801) | ||||
| Regions with significant populations | ||||
| Languages | ||||
| Kissi, English, French, Krio | ||||
| Religion | ||||
| Christianity 85%, African indigenous religion 10%, Islam 5% | ||||
| Related ethnic groups | ||||
| Temne, Baga, Sherbro, Gola | ||||
Kissi people is an ethnic group living in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. They speak the Kissi language, which is a Niger–Congo language. They are well known for making baskets and weaving on vertical looms. In past times they are also famous for their iron working skills, as the country and its neighbors possess rich deposits of iron. Kissi smiths produced the famous "Kissi penny", an iron money that was used widely in West and even Central Africa.
The Kissi are primarily farmers. Rice, their staple crop, is grown on most hillsides and in low, swampy areas. Other crops include peanuts, cotton, corn, bananas, potatoes, and melons. Beans, tomatoes, onions, and peppers are grown in small vegetable gardens, and coffee is raised as a cash crop. Most of the farmers also raise some livestock.
Agricultural work, such as sowing, weeding, and harvesting, is shared equally by the men and women. Additional responsibilities for the men include hunting, fishing, and clearing land. The women's duties involve caring for the small vegetable gardens, tending to the chickens, trading in the local markets, and doing some fishing. Boys tend to the livestock, which are usually cattle and goats. Cows are considered very valuable animals, not for their milk, but as religious sacrifices.
In Guinea, the Kissi warrior Kissi Kaba Keita managed to unite many kissi chiefdoms under his reign and resist French conquest for many years. Prior to 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. However, by 1893, Kissi Kaba realized that his resistance would fail and subjected himself to the French. As such, they recognized him as chief of the northern Kissi territory. However, he his relationship with the French gradually worsened, which first led to the French appointing his rivals in a number of his chiefdoms, until he was finally executed in Siguiri.
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Wikipedia