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The Loko (pronounced Lɔkɔ) are one of the indigenous ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. Landogo is used as an endonym for the people and language, but other groups refer to them as Loko. They speak a Southwestern Mande language that is also called Loko. The majority of the Loko people live in the Northern Province of the country, particularly in Bombali and Port Loko District, and around the capital city of Freetown in communities such as Regent. Important regional towns include Tambiama, Kalangba, and Gbendembu, though other groups such as the Mandingo, Fula and Temne peoples live there too. The Loko belong to the larger group of Mande peoples who live throughout West Africa. The Loko are mostly farmers and hunters. Loko believe that most humanistic and scientific power is passed down through the secret societies, such as the Kpangbani. The Loko were among the slaves shipped to North America while slavery still existed. The Loko were one of the largest ethnic group in Sierra Leone during the colonial era, but their linguistic identity has declined since then, as many Loko children use Temne and Krio and those in the south use Mende in place of their language. ==History== The Loko and other Southwestern Mande groups are thought to have derived from the Mane, dispersing around 300 AD from around the region of present-day Mali. Loko country was sparsely populated, and the people originally might have been West Atlantic speakers called Sapes. The ancestors of these Southwestern people, (possibly the Hondo; the proto-group of the Mende, Loko, and Gbandi) started following established trade routes from Liberia to Sierra Leone in search of salt and kola around the 15th century for Portuguese agents. There was another 'Mande' invasion, pushing more groups into the territory via war, blacksmithing technologies, and esoteric power from the secret societies. Speed (1991) thinks that the original settlements were north, bordering the Susu and Limba territories. The Temne and Loko have historically had long and complicated contact. The Temne drove the Loko into what is there present territory, reducing it significantly in the 18th century. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Loko people」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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