Money With A Soul _ Kissi Pennies.

Money With A Soul.

Called  Kissi Pennies in Liberian English, GuinzÇ or Gweze in Kissi and French, and Koli in Loma and Bandi.
The Loma forged koli from locally smelted iron ore in the form of long rods, with a "T" on one end (called nling or "ear"), and a sort of blade, not unlike a hoe on the other end (called kodo or "foot").

They ranged in length from about 6 to as long as 16 inches. A score of oranges could be bought for two, or a bunch of bananas. Because each one had relatively small value, they were often gathered into bundles (usually of 20).
The Lorma exchanged them for salt, cloth and other imported goods. Early this century, Loma also exchanged quantities of koli as bridewealth.
Although British and French silver and then Liberian and American coins gradually replaced iron asthe principle medium of exchange, koli still circulate in northwestern Liberia and can occasionally be seen in local markets.
When Rev.Hazzard visited northwestern Liberia in 1923, ten koli were exchanged for one British shilling (letter, T. R. Hazzard to A. Wetmore, n.d.); today, one koli is equal in value to one U.S. or Liberian cent.

Among the Loma, koli have several nonmonetary uses which make them virtually indispensable. At musical performances and dances audience members may place one or more koli on an entertainer's shoulder to show their admiration for his or her performance.

Loma people also place koli atop their ancestors' graves to serve as a medium for communicating with their spirits.
Finally, koli are occasionally used to transport ancestral spirits to their natal villages when a death occurs far from home; on those occasions, the spirit of the deceased is asked to jump "into" a koli, which is ultimately lodged in a descendant's home or placed within a new grave.

If an iron rod would accidentally break, it could no longer circulate and its value could only be restored in a special ceremony performed by the Zoe, the traditional witchdoctor – often the blacksmith – who, for a fee, would rejoin the broken pieces and reincarnate the escaped soul.

Therefore, it was said that Kissi money was ‘money with a soul’.

An illustration of koli placed atop and inside graves can be found in Germann (1933, plate between pages 94 and 95).