LEOPARD

The leopard is known as a powerful and stealthy hunter. These attributes are highly regarded among West African hunters, and Mythology has it that some ancestors’ spirits enter the leopard’s body to interact with the living. I painted this leopard in memory of one of my uncles who survived a leopard attack during a hunt. This incident was the talk of the village for a long time. Many believed that he forgot to make an offering to the ancestors before heading for the woods. Others added that the leopard spirit has been the protector of the family so long as proper ritual protocol was observed to maintain such protection. Despite my uncle’s strength and hunting experience, his head and back were badly lacerated. I painted the leopard in the vision I imagined my uncle saw the animal after he freed himself from its claws.