Diompillor America - News around the Kissi Community

By: Daniel Solee

Before I commence writing about the legacy of Chief Tamba Taylor, please allow me to give a brief synopsis of the Kissi Chiefdom for the benefit of our brothers and sisters. Before 1935 the Kissi tribe in Liberia had three chiefdoms and seven clans. Every Chiefdom had a Paramount Chief and Clan Chiefs. Tengia Chiefdom had Paramount Chief Fayia Koulekulay of Foya Toe. His Clan Chiefs were Varney Sodu (Isaac Manjoe’s grandfather) and Korkor Kornusu. Rankorlee Clan had our grandfather Ma Ndegbor of Foya Kama as Paramount Chief. His Clan Chiefs were Halibah Nyougbedu and old man Persia of Sadu Persia. In Waum Chiefdom, we had Paramount Chief Nyuma Sellu Kandakai. His Clan Chiefs were Chief Quermolu of Boliloe (grand father of our brother Alex Quermulu of Connecticut) and Chief Bombo Nyemgbemei.

In 1936, Commissioner Joseph Reeves of Kolahun District dismissed Paramount Chief Sellu Kandakai of Waum Chiefdom and replaced him with Clan Chief Persia of Sadu Persia. Tengbeh Wollie became Clan Chief during that period. When Chief Persia died, Chief Quemorlu of Boliloe as Paramount Chief replaced him. By that time, Ma Ndegbor was sent in exiled to Grand Gedeh County as punishment for being a stubborn Chief. For fear of having many powerful chiefs in one tribe, Commissioner Joseph Reeves decided to abolish all the three chiefdoms and have one Kissi Chiefdom. Consequently, the former three chiefdoms, Rankorlee, Tengia and Waum became clans and Chief Quermorlu, commonly known, as Chief Dugoe Boliloe became the first paramount chief of the three chiefdoms. His three-clan chiefs were Chief Kangbah of Kpormbu, Chief Tengbeh Wollie of Porluma and Chief Korkor of Foya Tengia.

By this time, Tamba Taylor had just returned from Kakata were he was an apprentice tailor. He came and settled in Kolahun, which was the headquarters of both the Kissi and Gbandi chiefdoms. Commissioner Joseph Reeves then found interest in young Tamba Tailor. They became close friends. Tamba Tailor began sewing clothes for Commissioner Joseph Reeves. His relationship with Commissioner Joseph Reeves led Tamba Tailor to politics. He began to attend several political meetings with the Kissi Chiefs that came to Kolahun. This was the beginning of Tamba Tailor’s legacy that would last more than six decades.

Who is Tamba Taylor? How did he acclaim national attention but yet hated at home? How did he use his charisma to win the attention and respect of almost every president of Liberia that lived during his tenure as Paramount Chief? People have left from many parts of Liberia and have gone to the Kissi Chiefdom just to see this outstanding leader. Tamba Taylor has become an icon in the Kissi Chiefdom. How did he formulate his principles? How did he weaken some of his opponents and critics? These are some of the issues I will attempt to deal with as I explore the legacy of Chief Tamba Tailor.

Tamba Tailor was born in a remote village in Waum Clan, Kissi Chiefdom called Meeleema. During his early childhood, he went to seek a profession around Firestone like many others. He settled in Kakata and became an apprentice tailor. After few years in Kakata, he decided to return home and complete his profession in Kolahun. From his youthful days, Tamba Tailor has been ruled by fear of failure. As an apprentice tailor he had to demonstrate all his abilities in the tailoring profession. He had to compete with other apprentice tailors. He later became one of the best in Kolahun and began to impress on all the District Commissioners and government officials that ruled and visited Kolahun District, Western Province. In those days, all the Districts and Provinces were ruled by selected Americo-Liberians from Monrovia. Local decisions were centralized in Monrovia. Eventually, Tamba Tailor’s prominence began to expand. Most of the gowns worn and decorated on foreign dignitaries in Monrovia were made in Kolahun and taken to Monrovia.

Tamba Taylor’s real name is Tamba Lamin. However, in the Kissi Chiefdom, we are found of naming people by their profession. Consequently, you will find names like, Saah Carpenter, Tamba Masoner, Fallah Firestone, etc. Therefore the name Tamba Lamin became associated with Tamba Tailor. His children later changed the spelling from Tailor to Taylor in order to make it look and sound more western. Tamba Taylor therefore has no relationship to President Charles Taylor of Liberia.


Around 1939, Tamba Taylor had cemented his relationship with Commissioner Joseph Reeves of Kolahun District. He had become his tailor and right hand man. Every official trip that Commissioner Joseph Reeves made to the Kissi Chiefdom, he would carry Tamba Taylor with him. In mid 1939, Tamba Taylor being young, aggressive and energetic convinced Commissioner Joseph Reeves to partition Rankorlee Clan and make him Clan Chief. Among the three clans, Rankorlee was the largest clan. Tamba Taylor’s uncles Blackie Howard and Alfred Davies (father of Janet Davies of Atlantic City), having had some form of education in those days, assisted Tamba Taylor in convincing Commissioner Reeves to partition Rankorlee Clan. The Commissioner been friendly with Tamba Taylor bought the idea and divided Rankorlee Clan into Upper and Lower Rankorlee. Tamba Taylor then became Clan Chief of Upper Rankorlee in 1939 and Chief Sankilah Pongay who had taken over from his brother Chief Kangbah remained as Clan Chief of Lower Rankorlee.

When Chief Quermorlu of Boliloe also known as Chief Dugoe died on August 24, 1954, Chief Tengbeh Wollie of Porluma, being the oldest and wisest became Acting Paramount Chief of the Kissi Chiefdom. Before the end of 1954, an election was held to replace the late Chief Dugoe of Boliloe. It became apparent that Tengbeh Wollie being the most senior Clan Chief would have replaced Chief Dugoe. Tamba Taylor had now become a very charismatic, abrasive and astute politician. He decided to compete against Tengbeh Wollie. However, he knew his chances of winning Tengbeh Wollie were very slim. Tamba Taylor convinced Chief Sakillah Pongay of Kpormbu that if he supported him and he won the election, he would unite the two Rankorlee Clans and have Chief Pongay as supreme ruler of the entire Rankorlee Clan. Already, there was some political feud between the House of Porluma and the House of Kpormbu when both Chief Kpangbah and Chief Kandakai were living. Chief Pongay supported Clan Chief Tamba Taylor. When the first elections were held in Boliloe, Clan Chief Tamba Taylor was declared the winner. Tengbeh Wollie protested the election results. Another election was held in Kolahun in March 1955 and Tamba Taylor was again declared the winner. In 1959, Tengbeh Wollie died and Alfred Davies became Clan Chief of Waum Clan.

Having being raised by fear of failure as an apprentice tailor, Tamba Taylor began to operate best from his emotions, rather than by his intellect. As a young leader, amidst growing opposition, he began to perceive evil where others saw only opposition. With potential political opponents such as Tengbeh Wollie, Sackio of Kornduma, Gbollie Gbenguisua, Kpamgba Tamba Kelema, Saah Tengbeh, Saysay Bangbeor etc., Tamba Taylor lost all sense of proportion.

Also, in his attempt to appease the powers in Monrovia, Tamba Taylor encountered growing opposition from the young educated elite in Monrovia led by Philip Saa Tali. Kissi men were forcibly recruited to work on the late President Tolbert’s Belefani farm for free. As one group left the farm, another group was recruited by force to work on the farm. There was force taxation in the Kissi Chiefdom. Rice was collected from the Kissi people by force and taken to Tolbert’s farm. Land was taken by force and sold. An example is the land of Somboloe sold to Fofana. All these irregularities under Tamba Taylor’s chieftancy led Philip Tali and a group of men to take the government of Liberia to task charging “Force Labor, Indirect Taxation and Indirect Slavery.” Philip Tali and his group of young men including the late Richard Daa, Daniel Nyuma of Rhode Island, etc. recruited their own renounced Kissi man and son of the late Paramount Sellu Kandakai, Counselor James Morkuwah Kandakai as their legal representative. Counselor Morkuwah Kandakai, being a product of Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law with Suma cum Laude, made the case very sensational. President Tubman out of embarrassment incarcerated Philip Tali, the late Richard Daa and few prominent Kissi people for fermenting and inciting hostilities in the Kissi Chiefdom. Counselor Kandakai became more aggressive and furious. The case became dramatic and drew national and international attention. An Executive Council was convened in Voinjama, Lofa County in late 1963. Tamba Taylor testified having any knowledge of the force recruitment of Kissi men to work on Tolbert’s farm. Tengbeh Wollie and many others testified against him. However, everyone knew that there was a strong bound of friendship and relationship between President Tolbert and Tamba Taylor. The situation became politically unsuitable and absolutely embarrassing for Tamba Taylor and President Tolbert. To avoid social strife and national embarrassment in the Kissi Chiefdom, the government of Liberia had to release Philip Tali and his group and also immediately stop the force recruitment of Kissi people for work on Tolbert’s farm. Consequently, all the force taxation and selling of land was immediately stopped.

As time progressed, however, Tamba Taylor seemed haunted by a sense of quilt that his personal vendetta against his political opponents and his deep desire to satisfy the powers in Monrovia was costing him the chieftancy and his legacy. He began to feel within himself that his basic premise to become a legend within the Kissi Chiefdom was fading. He was loosing respect daily. Therefore, he had to stop being a challenger and become an administrator. He had to shed his charisma as a redeemer of the Kissi people and become a constitutional leader with bureaucratic principles. He had to use every mechanism to gain control, power and respect.

Tamba Taylor employed other administrative techniques in the Kissi Chiefdom. Every time he left the Chiefdom for Monrovia on official business, he would leave one of his potential challengers or opponent as Acting Paramount Chief. What was however ironic is that most of those potential political opponents and critics he left acting in Shelloe followed one of his wives. Tamba Taylor was aware of these actions but never accused them. Again, whether this was a cunning political scheme employed to weaken his enemies, is still questionable and debatable. But in social life, when you love to someone’s wife, your power, strength and ego begins to diminish when you are in his presence. Consequently, out of shame and embarrassment for their unethical behaviors most of them began to succumb to Tamba Taylor.

With respect to those that did not get involved in the unethical behavior of following his wives, Chief Tamba Taylor, also known as the” Rock of Shelloe, (Powoe O’Shelloe) would hail them to high propensity and make them forget that they are political opponents. Tamba Taylor would give those local political opponents enormous powers and high esteem in the chiefdom. He will make them feel that they will be heirs to the chieftancy when he leaves. Some of them will become arrogant, pompous and feel untouchable within the Kissi chiefdom. At times he will even send them to represent him at political functions in Kolahun, Voinjama and Monrovia. They will consider themselves as Tamba Taylor’s most favorite and then he will drop them on thin ice and pick another strong elder. Some would be so devastated that they will just collapse and fade out of history.

Tamba Taylor therefore never fought his political enemies physically. He never tortured any of them. He never jailed any of them. But he used his intellect and wisdom to either win them over or crippled their political fame. He was a very ingenuous and gifted politician.

As mentioned earlier, legends can paralyze as well as inspire. The part of the legend that is worth remembering about Paramount Chief Tamba Taylor is, “not what he might have done in the past, but his remarkable and outstanding achievements later in life.” To better understand this charismatic man who became the wisest tribal leader in Liberia and the first indigenous tribal chief to become President of Liberia, let me paraphrase for you and excerpt from the book, “In Love With Night: The American Romance With Robert F. Kennedy,” by Ronald Steel.

“In politics, as in life, love is not always enough. And love as we know, is often blind. That is why we need to look at Tamba Taylor not as an idol or a mythical figure but as a man who, like everyone else, was not always clear in purpose and pure in thought. If we view Tamba Taylor this way we have a better chance of understanding him and what it is that we sought and continue to seek, in him.”

When we recall the long and distinguish career of Honorable Paramount Chief Tamba Taylor, we are reminded of the best attributes of a public servant. A great person’s biography is marked by consistency, integrity and lasting achievements. Such was the life and career of Tamba Taylor. Tamba Taylor held his principles close to his heart where he held his love of his country. He has lived his public and private life according to those principles. Tamba Taylor will always rush to defend his ground, whether or not the ground he defended was in fashion at that time.

We are all aware that changes in political attitudes and structures that occur regularly in any nation’s history often weaken the resolve of ordinary leaders. But extraordinary leaders like Tamba Taylor never allow the vagaries of public opinion impair his vision or weaken his heart. When Tubman died, Tamba Taylor was not weakened. When his best friend Tolbert died, Tamba Taylor was not weakened. And when President Doe died, he even became stronger. Therefore, whether or not the times favored him, Tamba Taylor always believed in what he was doing. He never tailored his message or trim his cause in deference to the prevailing sentiments about the style and purpose of politics. He always made the times come to him like in the days of Tubman, Tolbert, Samuel Doe and then Charles Taylor.

It is nearly impossible to list all his accomplishments in a public career that was for over five decades. Nor can the most detail list adequately explain the extraordinary national and international importance of Tamba Taylor’s public service. But even a simple glance at Tamba Taylor’s achievements can attest to his interest and the strength of his devotion to the Liberian people.

It is true that Tamba Taylor was a bit selfish. But that is true of almost every leader in Africa. Tamba Taylor allowed two big churches to be built side by side in Shelloe where there was no population to accommodate the churches. He refused for those churches to be built in the Foya Airfield were the population was growing. But he is not the only leader to want things in his hometown. President Houpheit Bongny built the biggest cathedral in the world in his hometown of Yamoussoukro instead of Abidjan. President Doe build a mansion in Tucson instead of Zwedru. President Tubman stopped the road pavement on his farm in Totota. The list can go on and on. But what is important and significant about Chief Tamba Taylor is that he was not a corrupt leader. During all his decades as Paramount Chief of the Kissi Chiefdom, he never build for himself any mansion or house. As leader of the Kissi people, Tamba Taylor later ensured that the chiefdom was connected by farm to market roads. He ensured that public schools were built in the Kissi Chiefdom. He encouraged agriculture. He fought for the amalgamation of villages. And above all he worked hard along with the Kissi people to make the Kissi Chiefdom a District.

Therefore, no matter the prevailing political sensibilities, no matter the personal risk to his career, no political gain was so important to Tamba Taylor than for him to help bring peace and stability to Liberia during these war years. Tamba Taylor preached peace in all its manifestations during the Liberian crisis; because he saw peace as the only hope for reconciliation and stability in Liberia. He traveled internationally and discussed the fate of Liberia with world leaders. The credit for all these efforts is a lasting attribution to the Kissi people and to Foya District.

Paramount chiefs will succeed Tamba Tailor in the Kissi Chiefdom, but for many years, this notable and charismatic leader will be in the memories of the Kissi people. And if all the histories of the Kissi paramount chiefs will ever be written without error and omission, the Chieftancy of Tamba Taylor will always remain a chapter unto himself.

It is believed that Chief Tamba Taylor lived for almost one hundred years. Out of those one hundred years of his life, more than sixty years were used leading the Kissi Chiefdom both as Clan Chief and Paramount Chief. He had many children serving in all works of life in Liberia and the United States. Notable among his children is Dr. Elijah Taylor who served the Liberian government with untarnished reputation both as a diplomat, Director General of the General Services Agency (GSA), Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs, board member of several government entities and corporations in Liberia.

About the author: Daniel Solee is a community activist and leader. He founder of the Liberia Project Ministry. Member of Diompillor America, Inc. At-Large Board, Federation of Lofa Associations in the Americas, Member of the Commission for Multicultural Ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. My personal thanks to Pastor Faya Kabakole, Hon. Philip Tali, Pastor Bimba and many others for their assistance with the historical contents of this article. Please note that the names Tailor and Taylor are interchangeably used in this article to depict the true nature of this great man. It is not meant to humiliate him.