ABS CBN (Manila, Philippines) 15 December 08 Snake charm (Leonor Magtolis Briones)
In the Christian world, snakes are associated with evil. Satan was said to have taken the form of the snake when it tempted Adam into eating the fruit of good and evil, in the garden of Eden. Thus, the immediate reaction of most people is to run away at the sight of snakes or to kill them. It does not help that snakes are not the most beautiful creatures in the world.
In rural communities, the snake is both feared and respected. Silliman University president Dr. Ben Malayang III tells how farmers would place snakes in their granaries to keep away rats, mice and other pests. Children are taught to drive away snakes, and not to kill them. The belief is that the mate of a murdered snake will hunt down the human killers.
Scientists and environmentalists insist that snakes have a place in the balance of nature. In Silliman Park, a housing subdivision beside the sea where Dr. Angel Alcala is a revered resident, the policy is not to destroy wildlife, be they snakes, crocodiles, or giant lizards . The understanding is that if snakes are sighted in homes, they should be captured and returned to the forest.
A month ago, the children of a college dean were peacefully watching television in their sala . Their father was in a conference in Manila. Suddenly, there was a loud thud and part of the ceiling gave way .Out popped the head of a python with a body the size of an adult’s upper arm! Part of its body was hanging out from the ceiling. The python fixed an unblinking stare on the petrified children. It could not get back; neither could it fall to the floor.
In response to the terrified screams of the children, the houseboy came rushing in with a a huge stick. He tried to hit the head of the python but missed his target which was swinging like a chandelier. One faculty member rushed in with his shotgun, a la Harrison Ford. A group of canto boys drinking at the corner store joined the fray. They were excited with the prospect of snake meat as pulutan. It is supposed to be endowed with extraordinary powers.
During the hue and cry that ensued, the python managed to squeeze itself back to the ceiling. Everyone could hear loud thumps as it moved around, possibly looking for an exit. The dean’s wife hied off with the children to a hotel. The idea that the python might slither down again while they were sleeping was dreadful beyond words.
Out came the edict of Dr. Alcala and Dr. Malayang: the python was to be captured but not killed. The next day, a team from Angel went to the Dean’s house, suitably uniformed and armed with the necessary paraphernalia for capturing snakes. They climbed inside the ceiling and searched it thoroughly. The python had disappeared. Everyone was disappointed, including the pulutan-eaters.
In a much earlier incident, a huge python was successfully captured from the ceiling of another old faculty house. It was loaded in a jeep and released in the mountains of Valencia at the foot of Mt. Talinis, the highest mountain in the province.
I thought that the action was politically and delightfully correct. That is, until I realized that my retirement home is beside the river in Valencia….
Of humans as snakes
Humans have a cruel habit of identifying their evil traits with animals. Thus, humans with evil characteristics are called dogs, pigs, crocodiles, vultures, worms. wolves, leeches, and yes, snakes. Human traitors are called “snakes in the grass.” A place filled with humans out to betray each other is called a “snake pit.”
Snakes have their uses. Ask the farmers, the healers and the shamans. At least a real snake can be captured and brought back to its natural habitat. Evil humans, especially the corrupt variety are much more difficult to capture and drive away.
Snake charm