The Loma people, sometimes called Loghoma, Looma, Lorma or Toma, are a West African
ethnic group living primarily in mountainous, sparsely populated regions near the border between
Guinea and
Liberia.
Their population was estimated at 330,000 in the two countries in 2010.
They are closely related to the
Mende people
The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, constitute the largest ethnic group at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly larger than the Mende at 31.2%. The Mende are pr ...
.
The Loma speak
a language in the Southwestern branch of the
Mande languages, belonging to the Niger-Congo family of languages. The language is similar to the
Kpelle,
Mende,
Gola,
Vai, and
Bandi languages.
The Loma refer to their language as
Löömàgòòi or Löghömàgòòi ).
The Loma people, led by Wido Zobo and assisted by a Loma weaver named Moriba, developed a writing script for their language in the 1930s.
This writing script contains at least 185 characters.
The
Mandinka,
Koniaka, and
Kissi refer to the Loma as ''Toma''.
Loma refer to themselves as Löömàgìtì (, or Löghömagiti in Guinea).
They have retained their Traditional Religion, and resisted the Islamic jihads. The Loma people called the religious conflict with
Mandinka people as a historic 'rolling war'.
The Loma people are notable for their large wooden masks that merge syncretic animal and human motifs. These masks have been a part of their ''Poro'' secret rites of passage. The largest masks are about six feet high, contain feather decorations and believed by Loma to have forest spirits.
The Loma people farm rice, but in shifting farms. They are exogamous people, with patrilineal social organization in matters related to inheritance, succession and lineage affiliations with one-marriage rule. Joint families, or virilocal communities are common, wherein families of brothers settle close to each other.
The Loma people are also referred to as Buzi, Buzzi, Logoma, Toale, Toali, Toa, or Tooma.
[RAMEAU, BnFbr>]
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Loma patronyms
Notable Loma people
* Louis Lansana Béavogui, former prime minister of Guinea from 1972 to 1984
* Joshua Guilavogui, French footballer
* K. Guilavogui, Guinean politician
* Michel Guilavogui, Guinean footballer
* Mohamed Guilavogui, Malian footballer
* Morgan Guilavogui, French footballer
* Pépé Guilavogui, Guinean footballer
* Simon Falette
* Balla Onivogui, Guinean trumpet player
* Mohamed Simakan
References
External links
Ethnologue report for Loma language
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loma People
Ethnic groups in Guinea
Ethnic groups in Liberia
Mandé people