Lobi Iron Currency Snake Burkina Faso

The Lobi use snakes like this tied to their calves to protect them from snake bite and lightning. The snake is a prominent theme in the area along the Niger river and among the Dogon (see their art and imagery of masks and the rock shelter paintings and especially their doors.) Also very prominent in the 'Djenne - Mopti' terracotta with whole snakes and snakes coiled with their head resting on eggs. Some Dogon assert that the snakes on doors represent their ancestors because of the fact that they shed their skin each year and are thus 'reborn'. Also their curved traces in the snow and representation on doors and the long 'squiggly' lines along the sides of some Dogon masks make reference to the idea of water/river.

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