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Serpent Headdress, late 1800s-early 1900s (wood & pigment)

IMAGE number
CVL499522
Image title
Serpent Headdress, late 1800s-early 1900s (wood & pigment)
Artist
Guinean / African
Location
Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, USA
Medium
wood and pigment
Dimensions
148 cms
Image description

Traditionally, Baga society was ruled by village councils of elders who derived their power from their direct contact with spirit entities through lifelong initiation rituals and the accumulation of secret knowledge. Two different religious orders controlled initiations, providing the context for much Baga art. One was identified as female, the other as male, though only men belonged to both groups. Initiations in each order followed three stages, culminating in the revelation of the highest spirit being. This type of Baga headdress embodied the serpent spirit Ninkinanka, honoured for giving rain, bestowing riches, and bringing forth children. The serpent figure would be placed on top of a conical framework of palm branches carried on a male dancer’s head. It appeared at the end of the first level of the initiation for boys and girls or just before the circumcision at the beginning of the boys’ initiation.

Photo credit
Photo © Cleveland Museum of Art / The Norweb Collection / Bridgeman Images
Image keywords
19th century / 20th century / wood (material) / material / snake / reptile / animal / guinea / snake / african / sculpture / baga / statue / ninkinanka
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Largest available format 4000 × 9408 px 10 MB
Dimension [pixels] Dimension in 300dpi [mm] File size [MB]
Large 4000 × 9408 px 339 × 797 mm 10.3 MB
Medium 436 × 1024 px 37 × 87 mm 343 KB

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