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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | A Brief History of the Loma People |
Author: | Leopold, Robert |
Year: | 2006 |
Periodical: | Liberian Studies Journal |
Volume: | 31 |
Issue: | 2 |
Pages: | 5-30 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Guinea Liberia |
Subjects: | Loma history Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) History and Exploration |
Abstract: | The Loma are a Mande-speaking people who practise swidden agriculture in a mountainous, sparsely populated region astride the border of Guinea and Liberia. Within the two countries there are perhaps 400,000 Loma and despite the political border crossing their landscape they maintain frequent social relations and a sense of common identity. This paper describes Loma history from the 15th century onward. The Loma were one of the last ethnic groups in Liberia and Guinea to submit to colonial administration. As citizens of emerging colonial States with antithetical political and cultural policies, the Loma of Guinea and Liberia experienced different fates. In Guinea, the State dismantled their indigenous political systems and eradicated their cultural institutions. In Liberia, by contrast, the Loma retained their political autonomy to a greater degree and maintained their social and cultural institutions. The paper also pays attention to Loma language and ethnic identity as well as ecological and economic aspects. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |