Description
C18th engraving of Crowning of the King of Whydah, April 1723 (present day Benin).
In the centre of the engraving is a serpent indicating the cult of the python seems to have been of exotic origin, dating back to the first quarter of the 17th century. By the conquest of Whydah the Dahomeyans were brought in contact with a people of serpent worshippers, and ended by adopting from them the beliefs which they at first despised. At Whydah, the chief centre, there is a serpent temple, tenanted by some fifty snakes.
From Prevost, Histoire generale des voyages.
