Subject: Snakes and Misbeliefs SNAKES AND MISBELIEFS Snake means death! It is amazing to find foolish and utterly absurd misbeliefs like this and many more about this misjudged creature. Compelling folklores,stories, myths and legends have us convinced. Below are the some common beliefs for the snakes :- 1 It is totally eroneous to believe that snake bites can be cured by mantras,mantriks,magic spells roots and herbs.Do you know that in our country about 25,000 people die playing fools to such beliefs? Anti-Venom is the only cure for the snake bite! The other remidies are useful to relieve fear and treat shock, but should never be substituted for or interfere with the anti-venom treatment. Snake bites are cured only when timely treatment is rendered to the patient. Mantriks casting spells, using snake stones to suck out the venom, Naagveli, kinds of oil, ash etc. are all futile. The snake stone is merely a benzoin or a gall stone, and has no effecton the venomous bite. 2. SNAKES ARE REVENGEFUL. There is no scientific basis to this. A snake's brain is not developed to the extent of retaining memory. It is said that if you kill a snake, another (its mate) will follow you and take revenge. That, of course is wrong, but may have some basis in fact. When you kill a snake it expels its musk from the anal opening; it is very possible that a nearby snake may show up to investigate what the musk(a sex - attractant) is all about. 3. SNAKES GAURD WEALTH. This is a common misbelief. Old crumbling houses, 'wadas' are ideal for snakes as they find plenty of hiding places together with rats and mice. In the days of yore, people often buried their wealth and it could be a possibility that a snake and the hidden wealth were unearthed together, giving this impression. 4. OLD SNAKES HAVE HAIR ON THEM. Hair does not grow on snakes. Periodically snakes cast of fmoult and if some mooult remains, it appears like hair. Sometimes soome snake charmers even stick hair onto the snake's head. 5. SNAKES HYPNOTIZE. This is believed to be so because snakes stare fixedly as they do not have eyelids and cannot blink. 6. SNAKES SWAY TO THE MUSIC OF THE FLUTE. This misbelief has been strengthened by our ever popular and ludicrous Hindi films. Even though it is now proven that they can detect some airborne sounds, there is no evidence that snakes can appreciate music. Snakes are said to dance to music. While playing the flute, the snake charmer sways and the snake moves to the swaying movement. It is the natural instinct of the snake to keep a close track of any moving object. In fact they instinctively stay away from artificial vibrations.The music of the snake-charmers only serves to charm the audience. 7. COBRAS,PARTICULARLY THE KING COBRA, WEAR A 'NAGMANI' THAT MAKES ONE A MILLIONAIRE. The poor Irula tribal snake-catcher has a good answer to the legend of the jewel or light in the head of the snake. When asked about this belief, an Irula will reply, " if it was so we would be rajas not snake-catchers." 9. SNAKES SUCK MILK FROM A COWS UDDER BY COILING AROUND ITS LEGS. This is not true. Milk is not part of a snake's natural diet. Where they would find it in nature, how they would obtain it with no powers of suction and with over hundred sharp teeth in the way, and of what nutritional value a few spoonfuls of milk would be to a snake, are questions that should be considered. 10. SAND BOA BITES CAUSE LEPROSY. The blotches on the skin of the sand boa have given rise to this notion. Since this harmless snake has a body pattern that vaguely resembles that of patients suffering from this dreaded disease, people are quick to make this association. Actually, snakes are clean and free of disease. 11. A GREEN TREE SNAKE PIERCES A MAN'S HEAD WITH ITS POINTED HEAD. The vine (green)snake is accused of poking one's eyes out or `stinging' one on the forehead. Actually, the pointed nose of this harmless snake is soft and rubbery.The vine snake can inflict a painful(but harmless) bite on the finger or even on the nose, but no one has ever received an eye injury. 12. Snakes like the sweet pungent smell of the 'kevada' or the 'raat-ki-rani'. All these are utterly baseless statements. 13. A small snake of Kashmir is supposedly so deadly that it melts the snow it passes through ! 15. In the south, bronzeback tree snakes are not only accused of being venomous - but after biting they supposedly climb a tall tree to observe the funeral pyre of the victim. 16. The tails of rat snakes, despite various stories about them, are no more dangerous then pieces of rope and so not have stingers, do not suffocate cows, lash down paddy and so on. 17. Bites by a snake with rings on its body, does not give the victim's body a ringed pattern. 18. In north western India, kraits are supposed to suck a man's breath away as he sleeps.This is perhaps the farmer-labourer's explaination for the respiratory paralysis that a severe krait-bite brings on. 19. In Maharashtra, the little earth bound saw scaled vipers are believed to jump through the air for six feet or more.Six inches would be more accurate. 22. Along the West Coast , it is considered lucky to have a cobra in one's compound, and in Kerela, many Hindus have a shrine and place an offering for their `family cobra'. 23. Cobras are believed to mate with rat snakes, but they in fact mate with only their own species and generally keep away from the larger and sometimes cannibalistic rat snakes. 24. The red sand boa has an extremely blunt tail; thus there are several popular stories about `two headed snakes'. Just as it fools the mongoose and other predators into attacking its tail while the head seeks escape, a large percentage of humans are also fooled. 25. Pregnant women loose their eyesight if they see a snake. 27. Snakes hold their own tail in their mouth, form a coil and chase people. Snakes use their tails as whips. 28. Pythons suck their prey from a distance. Many of our old traditions respect flora and fauna. These sacred traditions had a meanning and were observed thoughtfully. For example, worshipping the banyan tree during 'vata poornima', or worshipping bullocks.But somewhere down the line, these traditions lost their meaning and became plain ceremonies and rituals.The very next day after worshipping the bullocks we are cruel to them or we cut down the beautiful banyan tree that we worshipped! Similarly, Nag Panchami is celebrated with fervor. We perform a puja, pay obeisance to the snake only for that day and the next day if it crosses our path we are scared to death and kill it. Due to lack of proper information, misbeliefs and fears, many important species of flora and fauna have become extinct.Consequently, disturbing the natural cycle of coexistence. Rampant killing of the snake has led to enormous increase in the number of rodents, which in turn destroy the food grain.Records indicate that about 26 % of food grain produced in the country every year gets destroyed due to rodents. The number is likely to increase if the number of snakes continues to decrease at todays pace. Legal restrictions can control the destuction to some exent. The Wild Life Protection Act of 1972 passed by the Government of India has included all Indian snakes in the list of animals to be protected from being killed. The Act also bans sale of items made from snake skin. Exceptional import licenses are issued, but strictly for scientific purposes. Snakes will continue to be killed until we all learn to observe these rules. Compiled from various sources for the Special Interest Group-Snakes newsletter , I.I.T. Bombay Amit Verma averma@me.iitb.ac.in