Baga Protective Serpent I

Salihu Ibrahim in Ghana carves an impressive replica of Bansonyi, the Baga serpent. The figure is generally worn as a headdress in a ritual dance that evokes the serpent's protective spirit over young men that are coming of age. The Baga peoples occupy the northern coast of Guinea and the southern coast of Guinea-Bissau. Ibrahim carves the sculpture by hand from sese wood and embellishes it with paint and local clay.