S nake Drake stutesman Animal series Snake Animal Serieseditor:JonathanBurt Alreadypublished Crow Ant BoriaSax CharlotteSleigh Tortoise Dog PeterYoung SusanMcHugh Cockroach Oyster MarionCopeland RebeccaStott Forthcoming Rat Tiger JonathanBurt SusieGreen Parrot Fox PaulCarter MartinWallen Snake Crocodile DrakeStutesman RichardFreeman Whale Cat JoeRoman KatharineM.Rogers Falcon Spider HelenMacdonald KatjaandSergiuszMichalski Bee Duck ClairePreston VictoriadeRijke Hare Peacock SimonCarnell ChristineJackson Moose Salmon KevinJackson PeterCoates Fly Wolf StevenConnor GarryMarvin Snake DrakeStutesman reaktion books TothebeautifulS-lineandF Publishedby reaktionbooksltd 79FarringdonRoad Londonec1m3ju,uk www.reaktionbooks.co.uk Firstpublished2005 Copyright©DrakeStutesman2005 Allrightsreserved Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval systemortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwisewithouttheprior permissionofthepublishers. PrintedandboundinChinabyC&COffsetPrintingCo.,Ltd BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Stutesman,Drake Snake.–(Animal) 1.Snakes 2.Animalsandcivilization I.Title 597.9'6 isbn186189239x Contents Introduction 7 1 LivingSnake 17 2 MythicSnake 33 3 VenomousSnake 94 4 EdibleSnake 120 5 PetSnake 131 6 VogueSnake 138 Timeline 188 References 191 Bibliography 195 RecipesandCocktails 202 Associations 207 Websites 208 Acknowledgements 209 PhotoAcknowledgements 210 Index 212 Introduction Ssssssssssssssssssss. Doyouhearasnake’shiss?Ifso,it’slikelythatasuddeninvol- untary feeling rushes you because everyone has an opinion aboutsnakes.EmilyDickinsonmayhaveadmittedsomething forallwhen,inherpoemaboutaharmlessgartersnake,she says: Butnevermetthisfellow, Attendedoralone, Withoutatighterbreathing, Andzeroatthebone. Comparethattoayoungpetowner’senthusiastic‘Mysnake makesmehappy’orthewordsofacontemporaryAppalachian snakehandlerontheexperienceofholdingoneinchurch,‘it’s fullofjoy.IfeellikeI’mwalkinginanotherworld.’1 Thesnakeisverymuchaliveintoday’scultures.Sootheyour- selfwithaChineserheumaticsnakeremedy,spiceyourvirility withaswigofsnake’sbloodorboostyourimmunesystemwith asnake’sgallbladder.Showoffafangedserpenttattoo.Walk throughtheannualTexasRattlesnakeRoundupandseethou- sandsoftrappedrattlerskilledandturnedintosouvenirs.Visit India’sCobraFestival,inJodhpur,theNaagPanchami,where, 7 Aschoolgirlwith petsnakes,1927. for three days, handlers believe cobra venom has no effect. Listen to Australian Aboriginal warnings of languid pools guardedbygiantwatersnakes.Seewomendancingwithboa constrictorsorpythonsontheInternetortelevisionorinclubs inBerlin,ManilaandLasVegas.GotoanAmericanHoliness ChurchofSignsFollowingandwatchpeopleprayingwithlive copperheadsintheirhands,attendtheFestivalofSnakesinItaly wheresnakesareparadedinthenameofChristorwatchHopi priestsholdrattlesnakesbetweentheirteethanddanceinaday- longrainceremony. Theseareallcontemporaryevents,eachwithancientroots, someobvious,someobscured.It’sstrangethatsnakesmeanso muchyetit’seasytoseewhy.Theyareexotic:theirpatternsare 8
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