Serpent

African communities express a variety of views about the serpent as an animal of mysterious and complex characteristics and symbolisms. Among [Page 607]some African people, the serpent is associated with lunar elements as it manifests cosmic powers. The Ngala of central Congo hold that the moon once lived on the Earth as a serpent while the Dogon of West Africa think of the rainbow as the serpent of Nommo, the water god. Africans classify the different species of serpent according to conception in mythic narratives, natural behaviors, and ritual uses.

An Akan (Ghana) cosmological myth holds the serpent as an object of mystery and danger, deprivation, and impoverishment. In this myth, the community suddenly discovers a pot full of gold, around which a mysterious serpent appears and coils. The mission of the serpent is to prevent the people from retrieving the gold. However, the woman Asona demonstrates great courage, bravery, and determination, and she dips her hands into the pot; Asona dies after she is bitten by the poisonous serpent. Asona is the Old Woman and the first of the seven children of Abrewa, the counterpart of Nyame, Akan Supreme Being.

A myth of the Basari of northern Togo presents the serpent in a narrative that is striking but parallel to the Genesis myth of the fall of Adam and Eve. The African narrative tells of the serpent as diabolic and deceptive as it misleads the first human beings into eating certain fruits, which until that time only Unumbotte, the Basari Supreme Being, had eaten. The Suk and Bari of East Africa, the Benin of Nigeria, and the people of the Ivory Coast in West Africa all conceive of the serpent positively. To the Suk and Bari nomadic shepherds, the serpent is called “child of God.” It is looked on as a bringer of good fortune. It is fed with milk. The people look on the serpent as a protector and bearer of treasures and riches. The Benin people see the serpent as a symbol of happiness and prosperity, whereas the snake is regarded as a bringer of wealth and fame in the customs and traditions of the Baule and other people in the Ivory Coast.

The Zulu people of South Africa and the Maasai of East Africa hold similar views of the nature of the serpent. The Zulu regard certain serpents as divinized ancestors who have mysterious power to return to Earth in this form, whereas the Maasai of East Africa claim that the souls of the kings and healers turn into serpents to continue their life in this form after death. The Maasai notion also associates the serpent with the soul. The Chewa of eastern Zambia regard some serpents as sacred and thus they play a major part in ancestor veneration.

The serpent is regarded as a mysterious messenger of death that is often sent on dangerous errands by wicked persons or evil eyes to bite their victims. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, medicine men and healers use certain parts of the serpent, like its fur and teeth, in serious ritual preparations for healing. Magicians also use the serpent in their drama activities. They often turn to the serpent and scare their audiences who offer gifts to them. African-derived religious systems, which included a cult of snakes that migrated from West Africa, especially Dahomey, to America, have produced a new form in the spiritual and religious Voodoo of Haiti.

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