Joya

Native American Folklore

Snake’s ability to shed its skin is a powerful symbol of transformation, rebirth, and renewal. This process is often linked to healing, growth, and the ability to overcome challenges.

Snake is considered a powerful spirit animal. Some shamans make medicine bags from snakeskin to capture this power.

Rattlesnake is both feared and respected by Native people, and viewed as powerful and dangerous. Native people believe Rattlesnake was the first creature to bring death into the world by means of his poison.

Snake is considered a brother to the Hopi people, snakes play an important and mysterious role in Hopi culture. One of the most famous Hopi rituals, the Snake Dance, is a rain ceremony held in late August. This dance is performed to honor Hopi ancestors and to aid the Snake in carrying prayers to the underworld.

To the Navajo people, Snake is strongly associated with lightning, representing its power and unpredictability. This connection elevates Snake to a position of reverence, as lightning is a vital force that brings rain and sustains life in the arid Southwest. The serpentine movement of a snake is seen as similar to the zig-zagging path of lightning across the sky.

In some Native folklore, Snake enforces a rough type of justice, and breaking laws or violating taboos may cause a person (or his family) to be bitten by Snake.

In the folklore of southeastern tribes Tie-Snakes are water spirits with immense strength and deadly poison. In Creek stories, Tie-Snakes live underwater and are feared for their ability to catch humans and drag them underwater. To other tribes, Tie-Snakes are land monsters who traveled swiftly by biting their own tail and rolling like a hoop.

Yaqui snake stories are part of the oral tradition of the Yaqui people. These stories often feature snakes as significant symbols and characters, embodying transformation, healing, and the connection with the spirit world. Many Yaqui stories convey moral lessons, teaching respect for nature and the importance of balance in life. As the following story of the Snake people illustrates:

Long ago there lived a Yaqui man that was traveling through the desert with a club for protection when he came upon a large snake which he struck with his club. After being struck the snake vanished in the underbrush. Suddenly, this man found himself in a town, with a wounded girl with a bandage around her waist. He was asked by the people of the town why he had struck the girl with his club. He told the town people that he had clubbed a snake not a girl. After being scolded he was pardoned and released on the condition that he never harm anyone that may cross his path. This man later learned from a friend that he had done a great wrong and the snakes had transformed into people to punish him for injuring one of their kind. This same friend turned to the man and said, “never hurt a snake, coyote, or any kind of animal that is doing no harm.”