Lecture: The Python Spirit in West African Religion

This lecture by Frederick John Lamp, a scholar of African art, highlights two serpent headdresses from Guinea, West Africa, on view at the Menil. Drawing on sources from the 16th to 21st centuries, Lamp traces how the python has been represented in coastal Guinea and Sierra Leone as a spiritual force linked to environmental knowledge, renewal, and transformation. This program takes place in the main building, located at 1533 Sul Ross Street. As always, Menil programs are free and open to all.