Since
the beginning of time, certain animals have always been used in fiction to
represent how evil or how good an individual or concept can be. From dogs and
dragons to unicorns and pigs, animals have been used in various ways to
represent human feelings and actions. But there is no animal that comes close
to the symbolism of snakes in fiction. Almost every culture and religion on
earth have its own belief regarding snakes which they portray in their literature.
Generally, snakes are associated with something sinister and evil. However, snakes
can be used to symbolize something more rather than just evil.
According
to an ancient belief called Ouroboros, the drawing of a snake eating its tail
is a symbol of eternity. There is also another popular belief that considers the
ability of a snake to shed its skin as a symbol of rebirth. In certain cultures,
snakes are seen as a symbol of the underworld, the home of the dead. From
culture to culture and continent to continent, snakes are used to represent not
just evil but different concepts and human feelings. So, why are snakes
considered deadly and scary in most fiction and legends?
Mankind
has created many myths to support its beliefs about snakes. These myths have
crept into works of literature, theatre, and even religions. A typical myth
about snakes is the popular western myth of Medusa. According to the legend,
Medusa was a priestess of Athena, renowned for her beauty. She broke her celibacy
vow by having an affair with Poseidon, the sea god. To punish her, Athena
turned Medusa into a revolting hag by transforming her hair into writhing
snakes and her skin into a greenish hue. She was also cursed so that anyone that
met her eyes would be turned into stone.
After
eighteen years, the white and green snakes changed into two women named Bai
Suzhen and Xiaoqing. One rainy day, they met Xu Xian, who gave them his umbrella
to keep them dry from the rain. With time Bai Suzhen falls in love with Xu Xian.
They got married and opened a medicine shop in Zhenjian.
The
Terrapin spirit finally gained enough powers and changed to a human Buddhist
monk named Fahai. He then proceeds to destroy the happiness of Bai Suzhen first
by revealing her true form to Xu Xian, who died upon learning of her true nature.
Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing were able to resurrect Xu Xian using a magical herb
they got from Mount Emei. Despite knowing her true form, Xu Xian still remained
in love with Bai Suzhen. Fahai made another attempt to separate the couple by capturing
Xu Xian and keeping him imprisoned at the Jinshan Temple. Bai Suzhen and
Xiaoqing tried to rescue Xu Xian from Fahai. After a fierce battle that saw Bai
Suzhen flood the temple and kill many innocent people as collateral damage, she
couldn’t save her husband. This was because she couldn’t use her full powers because
she was pregnant with Xu Xian's child. After some time, Xu Xian escapes and
finds his way to his wife. After returning home, Bai Suzhen gave birth to a son
named Xu Mengjiao. Fahai finds the couple, defeats Bai Suzhen, and captures and
imprisons her at Leiden Pagoda. However, Xiaoqing escapes promising to take
revenge for her sister.
She
was finally able to take her revenge after twenty years spent increasing her
powers. She defeated Fahai and rescued Bai Suzhen, who went back to her husband
and son. Fahai, on the other hand, escapes and hides in the stomach of a crab.
Another
lesser-known myth about snakes is the Cambodian myth of the legend of the Keng
Kang snake. The myth describes that there was only one specie of snake and how
it gave rise to the many different species of snakes in the world today. According
to the myth, a god snake falls in love with a married woman named NY. The
couple lived in the middle of a forest, but the husband was rarely at home
because of his business. The husband only comes home a few times per year. One
day the woman lost her husband’s machete in a cave belonging to a king cobra. The
cobra promises to give her back the machete if only she loves him. Ny accepts
the offer because she fears her husband and because the machete is important to
their survival in the jungle.
The
cobra begins to visit Ny every night until she becomes pregnant. After she
became pregnant, her husband began to suspect that the child wasn’t his. His
suspicions were confirmed when he came home one night without telling her. The
next morning, he followed the cobra and killed Keng Kang in his cave, cutting
it into three parts. He hung the head of Keng Kang at the house and brought
back the body as meat to his wife. Not knowing the source of the meat, Ny
prepares a soup with it. As she eats beside her husband, a parrot screams,
'Look at that woman, eating her own husband.' However, it was too late, and she
began to cry when she realized what she was eating and what her husband had
done. Her husband takes her to a lake in the jungle and kills her. He then cut
open her stomach and womb, releasing thousands of baby snakes into the water. And
this is how the many different species of snakes came from one specie.
The
legend of the Keng Kang snake has inspired several movies, with the most
popular one being The Snake Man or the Snake King’s Wife, produced in 1970. The
movie was a commercial success in Cambodia, and it went further to show that
snakes are not just a symbol of evil, but they can serve as symbols of human
desires, as in the case of the lonely wife, and a symbol of revenge as in the
case of the jealous husband. The movie also has several sequels, all of which
are inspired by the Cambodian myth of the Keng Kang snake.
This
myth is the major inspiration for my horror story involving snakes which
appears in Book Three of The Horror Wedding Series. Stay tune for
the release of the last book of The Horror Wedding Series, which will be
the most intense and imaginative horror stories I have ever written.
References
https://cambodia1.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/the-son-of-the-snake-an-erotic-cambodian-symbol/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snake_King%27s_Wife
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_White_Snake
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros
https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/wildlife/animals/living-with/snakes/importance
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