Snake Headdress (a-Mantsho-ña-Tshol or Inap)

The performance of the snake headdress required extraordinary strength and balance. With the headdress lashed to a conical framework of palm branches and balanced atop the head, the dancer performed sharp, quick movements; he dipped and rotated the sculpture by bending at the knees and turning at the waist. The snake is associated with the swamp-dwelling boa constrictor spirit, who blesses humankind with rain, fertility, and wealth. Snake headdress performances were widespread until the mid-1950s, when Islamic revolutionaries led a campaign to consolidate the religious and national identity of the nascent Republic of Guinea.