Kissi Stone Figures (Pomdo / Pompdo)
Kissi · Pomdo · Sherbro stone figures · Pompdo
Late Iron to Protohistoric (600–1500 CE)·Proto-Kissi / Sapi·🇬🇳 Faranah Region (Guinea highlands), Guinea
About
About Kissi Stone Figures (Pomdo / Pompdo)
Class of soapstone janiform and steatite ancestral figures 10–40 cm named pomdo (kissis: 'dead') scattered across Kissi–Sherbro–Mende forest zone (Guinea/Sierra Leone/Liberia), Kissi stone figures 600–1500 CE represent 500-year soapstone carving tradition: ovoid heads with cup-marked eyes, janiform double-faces, and equine? Votive cache interpretation. First noted 1930s Dapper. Database 200+ collected from rice-field shrines; Chemical sourcing to Sherbro stone. Links to Sapi-Portuguese ivory style. Looting; many exported to British Museum. Associated stone Yassi circles.
Why it mattersOnly forest-zone African soapstone sculptural longue-durée predating Ife-naturalism — ancestral cult forest adaptation.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether kissi figures link to Sapi-Portuguese ivory school later
- 02Janiform meaning — ancestor vs twin cult
Theories
- 01Rice irrigation intensification trigger (Phillips)
- 02Sapi cultural continuum model
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 600–1500 CE (thermoluminescence Kissi context 1210–1550)
- Period
- Late Iron to Protohistoric (600–1500 CE)
- Culture
- Proto-Kissi / Sapi
- Builders
- Kissi / Sherbro
- Purpose
- Ancestral shrine figures in forest clearance and rice-field libation
- Rediscovered
- 1930s Thomas; 1960s Allison; 1990s Lamp
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
600–1500 CE (thermoluminescence Kissi context 1210–1550)
Initial construction
c. 1672 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
9.5000° N · 10.2000° W · 450 m · 1 mapped feature
Sherbro Findspot (representative Yengema)
shrineSherbro steatite figure discovery location
9.5200° N · 10.1800° W