Naturalist.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 378, 6 August 1903, Page 2

Naturalist.

SNAKE WORSHIfe7 J Jpj-Souta Canara ceremonies are perb formed by the virgin dedicated sc7: g -thispibua work. At similar famoujp snake festivals at Travancore pious > folk from all parts join in the worship, and bring votive offerings of gold, silver, grain, cocoanuts, peppar, spices, fruit, oil; ghee, sandalwood, silk and other things. The cost of the faetivals is defrayed from the revenues derived from the paddy fialda and gardens attached to the shrine, It is believed that if the ceremonies are not performed with purity ajacl 4qtou ;ness the serpent gods will be offended, and the largest of the cobras will qpme.ojuJi.<jf > .tbe. grove and show themselves to the people of the house. It is also believed that snake bites in the vicinity of this and other such shrines . neves, fatal.However this may be, it is certain that, estimating the average snake population of each of these shrines at a dozen—which is a modest computation, for I know of many gr6ves eaoh of. which is inhabited by at least thirty cobraß, and that there are between 15,000 and 20.000 of these -shrineß in Travancore alone—the number of deaths from snake bite in tha country is remarkably small. I ■ How harmless these serpent divinities of Travancore are we may further judge from the fact that the"'children of the household play about fearlessly in the neighbourhood of the grbxea, even Awhile their serpentine friends are gliding about, in the undergrowth or lie basking in the sun, and they have been known to ,be harmed; When some of these groves become overrun with the surplus population is carefully removed and sent to other shrines. There are in all pares of Travancore pious Brahman gentlemen who are specially applied to-in order to remove snakes from one grove to another. One of the celebrated centres of serpent worship in Travancore is the littld township ci Nagereoil, which itself means 'serpent temple/ Thu local pagoda is .dedicated to the snake divinity. The; ircppper'gilt idol'-of the'.serpeht mother is carriedin procession in a car once a year. Thousands of devotees assemble at the temple weekly and on special days during the year to worship the serpent goddess and to carry ifferings of milk, sugar and coccahafca to the living cobras. Daring six months of the year a large quantity of black sand is thrown up from behind the idol, and.for the other six months white sand ; it is supeiflnou3 to remark that this singularly interesting natural phenomenon is set down by the pious to the special account of the ophidian ladydivinity. The sand is distributed as prasadham, or offerings to the devotees, and all castes and strangers may participate in the benefits that accrue from its possession. It is believed that within a circuit of a mile from the temple no snake bite will prove fatal. When all is said and done, there is no country in the world where poisonous snakes are pampered and protected as they are in the little kingdom of Travancore ■Chamber's Journal.'