This powerfully-carved figure represents a shadowy and little-understood people who were the ancestors of the modern Kissi groups of modern Sierra Leone. Excavated from fields around the Kissi territory, these figures are revered as ancestors, put on shrines and even located under houses where they received libations in the hope they would attract good harvests. This piece is a classical example of the genre. Carved from soapstone, the figure represents a seated, corpulent man, who is supporting his stomach with both hands. The proportions are deliberately adjusted. The head (topped with a cap) is disproportionately large, with a much smaller body and short limbs. The legs are especially rudimentary, but the arms and shoulders are carved in a sectorial manner reminiscent of fine Bete or Lagoons carvings of later periods. The head is long and low, with a skull that might have been based upon a head that was deformed – using artificial mechanisms – in real life. This technique was once common throughout the world, at different times, and is associated with beauty and also with social elites. The face is very well-formed, with a prognathic (protruding) lower face, a large mouth with full lips, a broad nose and calm, oval eyes with well-defined lids. The ears are protuberant, with a “>” shaped lateral profile that recalls the ear-forms of Yoruban master carvers of the 19th and 20th centuries. The whole piece is slightly abraded, implying long burial of usage, and has a gloss that suggests repeated libations and handling. The person depocted is of course impossible to ascertain, but it is likely - on the basis of other studies, and his headwear - to be a chief, and the fact he is fat would imply that he possessed a certain status within the society (obesity is associated with wealth in many historical and non-western societies)

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, that 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 the. 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. This is a powerfully-carved and well-finished piece of ancient African art.