Introduction / History The Loko occupy a large section of Sierra
Leone and a small area in Guinea below the Fouta Djallon region.
They live on a land of gently rolling coastal plains broken by
rocky spurs of the Fouta Djallon highlands. In this tropical
region, the average temperature is about 82º F., with 65 to 95
inches of rain falls annually. Baboons, hyenas, and antelope are
common in the area, as are snakes and crocodiles. The population
of Sierra Leone is composed predominantly of black Africans
belonging to nearly 20 different ethnic groups. The two largest
groups are the Mende in the south and the Temne in the north.
Creoles (descendants of freed slaves returned from the Americas)
are an important minority living in the Freetown area. The Loko
were among the slaves shipped to America while slavery still
existed. Today, they are close neighbors of the Bande. They
speak a Niger-Congo language that is also called Loko. What are
their lives like? The economy of Sierra Leone is based primarily
on agricultu