This elaborate lock combines the symbolism of the lebe snake (the first hogon, spiritual chief of the Dogon) and what appear to be the nommo twins of amma serou, another early Dogon ancestor. Lebe, part human and part supernatural, metamorphosed into a snake (it is in this form that lebe is believed to exist today), introduced death to the world. He visits the hogon, licks his body, and in so doing gives him and all humanity the strength to live. For the Dogon, lebe is the mainspring of germ...
