Kissi money The third group of peoples who arrived and settled in the region which is now known as Liberia migrated to this part of West Africa quite recently. They were the Kru, Bassa, Dei, Mamba, and Grebo tribes. They came from what is now the Republic of Ivory Coast. Population pressure - due to the mass emigration of tribes from the Western Sudan where the mediaeval empires had declined after their conquest by the Moroccan army - had resulted in tribal wars. The Kru arrived in the early sixteenth century. They came by sea, as did - later - a part of the Grebo. Those Grebos who took the sea-route were later called ‘seaside Grebos’ in order to distinguish them from their kinsmen who decided to travel by land, the safer way. Those who braved the dangerous waves still feel superior to these so-called ‘bush-Grebos’. All the peoples of this group belong to the same linguistic group. The last group of tribes to arrive from ‘over land’ was the Mandingo-group, comprising the Vai and the Mandingo tribes. The Vai also migrated to the West African central region in the 16th century and had probably the same motivation as the tribes of the third group. They crossed the western part of the actual republic of Liberia, clashed with the Gola whom they subsequently defeated, and - later - moved to the coast where they settled. The Vai form the first tribe of this region which was moslem, unlike the tribes previously mentioned which were all animists. It was one of the few tribes of Black Africa who developed its own script . About the 17th century the Mandingos began to arrive in Liberia. They were moslems too. They too originated from the Western Sudan. They left this region after the Empire of Mali - of which they formed a part - was considerably reduced by the Emperor of Gao, Askia Mohammed, in the 16th century.

The early inhabitants According to the traditions of many African tribes their ancestors were Pygmies, or persons of small size, and memories of them still live on in numerous stories and legends. Although no trace of their existence was ever discovered in West Africa they are well-known to the peoples of this subregion. The Sousou in what is now Guinea call them ‘Doki’, the Ouolofs in Senegal call them ‘Kondrong’, the Malinke ‘Komo Koudoumi’ while in Liberia they are called ‘Jinna’. The first inhabitants of the region which is now known as Liberia may have been of small size too. No recorded history can prove their existence, but they still play an important role in the oral history and the religious life of some of Liberia's tribes. When the Golas, who are supposed to be the oldest of the Liberian tribes, travelled from the interior of Central Africa to this West African region they reportedly met these small-sized peoples, who were bushmen and who ‘dwelt in caves and the hollows of large trees, and lived on fruits and roots of wild trees’ , according to Liberian historian Abayomi Karnga. A second group of peoples is reported to have arrived in the region about 6.000 B.C. Though their origin is not very clear they most likely came from the Western Sudan. These newly arrived people defeated the Golas and other tribes such as the Kissi, and established an empire under the leadership of King Kumba, after whom they were called. The Kumbas comprised distinct groups which developed into different tribes after the death of their leader; the Kpelle, the Loma, the Gbande, the Mende, and the Mano, all belonging to the same linguistic group. They were chiefly agriculturalists but also developed arts such as pottery, weaving, and basket making. Their blacksmiths were able to make spears, arrow-heads, hoes, knives, rings and iron rods. These iron rods were used as a medium of exchange.

Dan Mask