852 L O A 
abound. It contains feven or eight villages. On the 
coaft are found fhell-fi(h, called zimbi, ufed for money 
by the natives, like cowries in the Indies. Lat. 8. 50. S. 
LOAN'DA, or St. Paul de Loanda, a feaport town 
of Africa, in the kingdom of Angola, and capital of a fer¬ 
tile province, called Loanda, in pofleflion of the Portu¬ 
guese ; the fee of a bifhop, and containing feveral churches, 
convents, and about 5000 inhabitants ; of whom only one 
thoufand are whites; the reft are blacks or mulattoes. 
The country abounds in cattle and (beep ; Indian corn, 
millet, manioc, and fruits. Lat. 8. 55. S. Ion. 13. 22. E. 
LO'ANG-TSCHING', a town of China, of the third 
rank, in Pe-tche-li : fifteen miles fouth of Tching-ting. 
LOANGIIIL'LY, a town of Africa, in Loango : the 
ufual burying-place of the emperor: ten miles fouth of 
Loango. 
LOAN'GO, a country of Africa, fituated on the weft 
coaft, towards the Atlantic, and bounded on the north by 
Benin, on theeaft by Anziko, and on the fouth by Congo. 
The climate of this kingdom is much hotter, but not lefs 
healthy and pleafant, than that of Congo and Angola, 
nor the foil lefs fertile. The inhabitants, indeed, are lit¬ 
tle difpofed to plant or fovv more than is fufficient for 
their wants. They commonly content themfelves with 
bread and fifh, and fuch fruits, greens, and pulfe, as the 
ground naturally produces. They have feveral forts of 
peafe and beans, large and fmall millet, of all which the 
ground yields them three crops in the year. Their palms, 
bananas, and other trees, produce excellent fruits, of which 
they make wines. The cotton and pimento trees grow 
wild, as well as the paradife grain. Sugar-canes, caftia, 
and tobacco, grow plentifully ; but cocoas, oranges, and 
lemons, are not cultivated much. They have a great va¬ 
riety of roots, herbs, fruits, grain, and other vegetables, 
which they make bread of, or ule for food. They have 
but few cattle, except goats and hogs ; but poultry is fo 
very cheap, that fix-pennyworth of beads will purchafe 
thirty of them. Among the wild beafts they have the ze¬ 
bra, and multitudes of elephants, whofe teeth they ex¬ 
change with the Europeans for iron. The natives, who 
are called bramas, are tall, ftout, and well-formed ; 
and, though formerly cannibals, are of late much im¬ 
proved in their manners. They pra&ife circumcifion, 
are addiiSfed to trade among themfelves, and are friendly 
and hofpitable in their mutual intercourfe. They are fond 
of females, and jealous of their wives. Every man marries 
as many as he pleafes, who are obliged to get their huf- 
bands a livelihood, as is the practice all along the African 
coaft inhabited by blacks. The women, therefore, culti¬ 
vate the land, fow and reap, while the lazy hufbands loiter 
away their time in idlenei’s. The king has about 1500 
concubines. If any of them is lurprifed in adultery, the 
and her paramour are inllantly conveyed to the top of a 
very high hill, whence they are hurled down headlong 
from the fteepeft place. 
The drefs of the Loangoefe conftfts chiefly of cloth ma- 
nufaftured by themfelves ; and they' are fond of orna¬ 
ments about their necks, legs, and wrifts, which they form 
of beads of coral, ivory, (hells of a beautiful hue, chains 
of copper, tin, or iron, obtained from Europe. Of a Su¬ 
preme Being, their notions are very imperfeft and con- 
fufed. Their worfhip is addrefled to demons, domeftic 
and rural; and to thefe they afcribe great influence. To 
their monarcbs they attribute a kind of fupernatural and 
unlimited power. The foreign commerce of the country 
conftfts chiefly in (laves ; and they likewife fell conftder- 
able quantities of ivory, tin, lead, iron, and copper. 
The kingdom of Loango, feparated from Congo, of 
which it was formerly a part, is divided into four princi¬ 
pal provinces, viz. Lovangiri, Louango-Mongo, Kilongo, 
and Piri. The firft is fertile and well inhabited. The 
fecond, lying north eall of the former, is fpacious and 
-produflive, particularly of palm-trees, the oil of which 
they extract in great quantities; and the inhabitants era- 
themfelves in working a variety of linen and doth. 
L O A 
The third is a maritime province, and is the Iargeft and 
the raoft populous of the four; its plains are extenfive 
and fertile, and they are (heltered at a dillance by ridges 
of high mountains ; the trade of the inhabitants, who are 
rude and unpolifhed, ccnflfts in elephants’ teeth. The 
laft province, north of Kilongo and Louango-Mongo, is 
low and flat, but abounds with variety of fruits and other 
trees, and is well peopled and cultivated; the inhabitants 
are peaceable, and (Irangers to war. They have plenty of 
cattle, and of wild and tame fowl, and take great pleafure 
in hunting. Their food is fupplied by the game they 
fake, and the milk of their cattle. In all thefe provinces 
there are many towns and villages. 
LOAN'GO, capital of the country fo named, fituated 
on a river, which forms a bay at its mouth, about fix 
miles from the coaft of the Atlantic. It is called Loango, 
or Lovango, and Banza Loangiri; but by the natives Bo- 
rai, or Boori. It is very airy and fpacious, as the houfes 
are not contiguous to each other. The ltreets are wide, 
and kept very clean ; and the (ides lined with palm-trees, 
bananas, and bacavas, which afford a grateful (belter to 
the houfes before ; and molt of thofe of the better fort 
have the fame behind, or even quite round, by way of or¬ 
nament. In the centre of the city, facing the royal pa¬ 
lace, is a great fquare, and the palace itfelf, which forms 
another fquare, a mile and a half in compafs, is furrounded 
with a palifado of (lately palm-trees. It conlifts of a vaft 
number of houfes, among which are thofe of the king’s - 
women, each of which is large enough to lodge feven or 
eight of them. The houfes of the king, his halls of au¬ 
dience, and other offices, are on the weft fide, facing the 
plain area above-mentioned, in which laft he holds his 
councils of war; and there alfo fealts his prime officers, 
and fometimes his whole army. From this plain, likewife, 
there runs a wide ftreet, fome mufket-fhots from the place, 
where there is a confiderable market kept every day, which 
begins at ten o’clock, and where there are fold great quan¬ 
tities and variety of palm-cloth ; alfo provifions, as meal, 
poultry, fifli, wine, corn, and oil. In this market-place 
is a famous temple, and a mokiffo, or idol, called Mokiffo 
Loango , which was held in great veneration both by the 
kings and people. As to the other houfes of this metro¬ 
polis, they are for the mod part oblong, and covered in 
fuch a manner as that the middle part of the top is flat, 
much after the Italian manner. They have ufually three 
or four rooms, but no (lories upon one another. Every 
houfe is fenced round with a hedge of palm-twigs, canes, 
or bulruflies. The furniture of their houfes confifts in a 
variety of pots and kettles, calibafhes, baikets, mats, and 
benches, on which they lay their clothes, weapons, and 
other utenfils. The bay of Loango, though reckoned 
pretty good, is incommoded, neverthelefs, by a bank on 
the north fide of its mouth or entrance, which runs about 
half a league along the coaft, and has not above two fa¬ 
thoms and a half of water. The many large rivers that 
come down from the continent, occafion fuch ftrong and 
rapid currents towards the north during almofl the whole 
year, that it is very difficult to weather them, and gain a 
Southern courfe. The only months in which they may 
be fternmed with fafety and eafe, are January, February, 
March, and April; all the reft of the 3 ear the currents 
flow fo ftrong, that even coafters mult keep at lead ten or 
twelve leagues oft’ the land. Lat. 4. 40. S. Ion. 10. 25. E, 
LOAN'GO, a river of Africa, which runs into the At¬ 
lantic in lat. 10. 30. S. 
LOA'NO, or Lovano, a town of Genoa, near the fea,; 
fix miles fouth-fouth-weft of Finale. 
LO'AR, or Loar/ke, a town of Spain, in Aragon : 
thirteen miles fouth of Jaca. 
LOAF.DE'GA, a town of Hindooftan, in Bahar : forty 
miles fouth of Palamow. 
LOA'SA, f. [probably fo named by Adanfon from fome 
Spanifh botanift.j In botany, a genus of the clafs poly- 
andria, order moncgynia. The generic characters are— 
Calyx: perianthium live-leaved, (uperior, permanent; 
leaflets 
