Wow. There was so much to unpack this week. I found this weeks readings particularly interesting, and I think there are three big reasons for that: for one, I am a (relatively) recent Catholic convert myself, and for another, the theme of religion plays a huge role in what I am researching for my final project. Lastly, it seems that snakes were a consistent theme throughout these readings, as they are in many Christian denominations. Believe it or not, I’ve spent quite a lot of time around snakes.
I never had much of a particular personal interest in them, but they were always around me. My mom and sister were both fascinated by them, and my whole family would take trips to the Garson snake pits in Manitoba to see all of the little garter snakes. We had them as pets too, and we went to a lot of reptile exhibitions. We had little garter snakes, pythons, and even a boa constrictor at one point. So snakes are always an interesting topic for me.
In González Viaña’s text “Sarita Colonia Comes Flying,” the snake comes up as “the boy” or “the grandfather” which appears only when it bites you and “charms you and infects you with snake dreams and snake eyes” (492). This immediately reminded me of the story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, who does not poison Adam and Eve directly, but instead sweet talks them into taking fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. God specifically asked them not to eat from that tree, but the serpent tells them that it’s only because it will make them like God. He tempts them into eating the fruit, which ultimately breaks their relationship with God and is considered the original sin. The serpent is widely used throughout Christianity as a symbol for the Devil, and it seems that a “the grandfather” relates a similar idea. It can be with you for months without knowing it (492), people joke about it even though they’re scared, and it has various ways of getting into your house/head (493). All of these traits could easily be attributed to the Christian understanding of Satan.
In contrast, Canals’ text on the cult of María Lionza in Venezuela, mentions serpents as well, but in a very different nature. While in many Catholic images of the Virgin Mary, Mary is depicted stepping on a snake, images of María Lionza show a snake wrapped around her waist (164). Canals states that the female divinities worshipped in the cult’s rituals are actually associated with snakes, and not against them (161). In the retelling of the double possession of Barbara, Canals mentions that when possessed by the spirit of María Lionza as an Indian, she began to swing her body and make an ‘s’ sound (164), and saw it as a reference to that relationship between the goddess and serpents.
My question to the class is: do you think that it matters how snakes are depicted in religions/belief systems? Why?
emilia heilakka
March 3, 2021 — 1:16 AM
Hey!
I really liked the parallel you draw between the snake in Sarita Colonia and Satan in Christianity. I was confused about the name for the illness (“the grandfather”) but I think it makes a lot more sense if it can be thought of as Satan. The snake seems to be an embodiment of evil, although I don’t understand where the universal consensus of it being a snake originates. Maybe because some of them are poisonous and people have perceived them as dangerous? That’s what they seem to represent in most cases anyway.
ms99
March 3, 2021 — 2:09 AM
I had some problems making sense of the Sarita Colonia piece so it was interesting that you mentioned the snakes in your response which I think was a good observation. With regards to snakes, it would make sense that snakes have been killing humans and their livestock for thousands of years that cultural representations of snakes would be negative, as is in Christianity, but If I’m not mistaken there is a bit of nuance in how the religions of ancient Egypt portrayed the snake.