Snake’s Cultural Impact
Let’s discuss the cultural impact of snakes. Snakes form an important part of many cultures in the world, both modern and historical. Ophidiophobia (phobia of snakes) is commonplace. Last week, we discussed the potential dangers certain snakes pose. The main risks include venomous bites and the largest constrictors. Non-venomous snakes are not a threat to humans.
Snake Charming
You will know this from various cartoons and movies. Snake charming is an Indian roadside show where the charmer plays a flute-like instrument and the snake responds to the music. Typically, the Indian cobra species.
The snake is actually responding to the movement of the instrument, they lack external ears so they don’t hear in the conventional sense. Animal welfare laws prohibit snake charming.
Snake Catchers
The Irula tribe from India have been catching snakes for generations professionally. The snake skin industry was outlawed in 1972. The Irula tribe now catch the snakes to milk their venom. The venom is collected and used for producing antivenom, biomedical research and other medicinal products.
There are modern day experts elsewhere in the world, who specialise in catching snakes both for study and to remove them from homes and property.
Consumption
Many people eat snakes, especially in Asia: China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Snakes are believed to have health benefits and aphrodisiac properties. Snake wine, which is wine infused with whole snakes, is used in Chinese traditional medicine.
Pets
People keep snakes as pets, especially the more docile smaller snakes like the corn snake and the ball python. Snakes require specialist housing for optimum health but usually only need fed once every week or two. You need to seek expert veterinary care for snakes as well, not all vets are knowledgable or comfortable handling them.
Symbolism and Mythology of Snakes
Ancient Mesopotamia
Nirah means ‘little snake’ in Sumerian. Nirah is a messenger god and may be lord of the underworld. Sumerian art features representations of two intertwined serpents. Ancient deities iconography in Assyria and Babylon feature snakes.
Hopi Tribe of Arizon
The Hopi Native American tribe celebrate snakes as a symbol of fertility. They release snakes into the fields to guarantee good crops. So they represent the umbilical cord joining all humans to mother Earth.
Egypt
Ancient Egyptian iconography commonly incorporates snakes. The Nile Cobra adorns the crown of the pharaoh. Snake iconography associated with Ra, Wadjet, Renenutet, Nehebkau and Meretseger.
More sinister purposes for snakes exist in Ancient Egypt – using them to murder an adversary or to comit a ritual suicide. Cleopatra is famous for allowing an asp (Egyptian Cobra) to bite her, according to popular belief.
Ouroboros
Found in Ancient Egyptian iconography and Greek magical tradition, the symbol of a snake eating its own tail. Gnosticism, Hermeticism and alchemy adopted the ouroboros icon.
The ouroboros represents the eternal cyclic renewal, or a cycle of life, death and rebirth. Snake’s shed their skin as they grow, hence this is representative of the transmigration of souls or immortality.
The act of biting its own tail is a fertility symbol in some religions: the tail is a phallic symbol and the mouth is a yonic or womb-like symbol. So, the ouroborous represents sexual intercourse and reproduction.
Ancient Greece: Medusa
The legend of Medusa depicts a monster with snakes for hair that can turn those who look at her into stone. The hero Perseus slayed Medusa. She had two sisters, Stheno and Euryale who were both gorgons as well. Her image symbolises warding off evil.
In Ovid’s Metamorphoses the tale of Medusa is a bit different by comparison. Medusa, a priestess of Athena and suffered sexual assault by Poseidon, the god of the sea. Athena turned her into a gorgon after this. Some say as punishment, others believe it was so she could protect herself. Because of this, Medusa is an important symbol for sexual assault survivors in the modern day.
Asclepius
The Greek god of healing, Asclepius, represented by a rod or staff with a serpent wrapped around it. The sick and injured went to Asclepius’ temples for healing and care. Hence, the staff of Asclepius became a symbol for medicine.
Similarly, Hermes’ staff, Caduceus has wings and two serpents intertwined around it. With a V included in the symbol, it represents veterinary medicine. Hermes was messenger to the Olympian gods.
India
Indian traditions and deities feature snakes a lot. Shiva has a cobra around the neck. Vishnu is sometimes depicted as sleeping on a seven-headed snake or within the coils of a serpent.
Temples dedicated to cobras called Nagraj are common. Snakes symbolise fertility and people celebrate them during the Hindu festival of Nag Panchami.
China
The Chinese Zodiac features snakes as one of the twelve celestial animals. 2025 is the year of the snake, hence my choice of topic for this month. Snakes associate with traits like intelligence and unscrupulousness. Ancient China related snakes to the river deities.
Christianity and Judaism
The Garden of Eden
We can’t talk about snakes in culture and society without discussing this. In the book of Genesis, a serpent tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. God throws Adam and Eve out of the Garden as punishment and this confers the concept of ‘Original Sin’ on humanity. Whether you believe it or not, nobody can deny the importance of this story on shaping our society and culture. Genesis doesn’t name the serpent, but it is a common belief that the serpent is the Devil.
Moses
In the book of Exodus, Moses turns his staff into a snake as proof of God’s power. In the book of Kings, God instructed Moses to create the Nehushtan – a bronze snake on a pole that cured people of snake bites in the desert.
Satan
The final book in the New Testament, the book of Revelation contains the final mention of serpents in the Bible. There, serpents are symbolic of Satan, the fallen angel who tempts people towards sin. He plays a role in the apocalypse described by the book of Revelation.
It’s clear that snakes represent evil and sin in Christianity. There is less of this in Judaism and Islam.
Conclusion
It’s clear that snakes play an important role in a lot of cultures. They can symbolise fertility, the cycle of life, rebirth, evil and temptation. People fear and revere snakes across the world. Often maligned and misunderstood, yet they have played an important role in shaping society as it is today.
However, snakes also represent healing, recovery and caring for people and animals alike. I love snakes, they are fascinating creatures and get a bad rap. They have personalities, unique abilities and an important place in the ecosystem.
I hope you enjoyed this summary of the snakes cultural impact and why they matter so much. They have a number of representations which you can use in your writing to symbolise different things. As always, if you have any thoughts or questions, I’d love to hear them.
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