An open door to West Africa’s histories

Our mission

Lorma makes the history and cultures of West Africa accessible to curious readers anywhere. Everything is free to read, with no account required.

We treat West Africa as a region of many distinct peoples, languages, states and traditions, not a single story, and we connect the past to the present where those connections are real and documented.

Our name

Lorma takes inspiration from the Lorma, or Loma, people of north-western Liberia and neighbouring Guinea. The name is a tribute, not a claim. Lorma does not officially represent the Loma community, and nothing here should be read as speaking on its behalf.

How we work

We cite museum, university, scholarly and cultural institution sources, and we distinguish primary sources, later scholarship, oral traditions and disputed interpretations. Where evidence is uncertain, we say so. Content that has not completed review is labelled as a draft.

Some images on Lorma are illustrative and created with AI. They are always labelled and never presented as archival evidence. Read our editorial standards.

Independence

Lorma is independent. It has no institutional partners, sponsors or endorsements at this time. If that changes, we will say so here.