Snake Handling And Religion

Dennis Covington was not biased when it came to writing Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia. Covington did not have a preconceived notion or bias towards snake handling. Prior to Covington's involvement with the snake handlers, he was in a spiritual place in his life were he was not for or against snake handling. When Covington was assigned to cover the Reverend's trial, he did not come with the intention of becoming a member of the snake handling community. The book represents his experience as a snake handler and his spiritual journey on Sand Mountain. There is undeniably a sheer strangeness with the snake handling practices. Before reading the book, I was unaware that snake handling was used

The Huichol Indians are an indigenous group that lives “in the Sierra Madre Mountains of northwestern Mexico” (Woolcott). The Huichol religion is an animistic religion. According to Dr. Pamela Lindell, animistic religions are “religions that believe that all of nature – humans, animals, plants, rocks, the ocean, etc. - is animated by spirits and souls” (“Professor’s Notes 2” 3). To better understand the Huichol Indians and their religion, this paper examines Huichol myth, symbolism, rituals, religious specialists, and deities from various anthropological perspectives.

The shaman wears a fabric veil while a trance state is being reached. The mask not only blocks out reality, but additionally cover from evil spirits. Restricted in which a shaman returns the soul to the body is through a string-tying custom. Different colours such as white, red, blue strings are fixed to protect individuals from spirits in the form of illness. These strings signify the binding up and holding in place of the life-souls. When Paja and his wife became sick, their relative performed a healing ceremony for them (McSilver & Siegel, 2001). During this ceremony, strings are tied around their wrists to restore their souls to their bodies. The Hmong culture has a lot of traditional activities they perform. During funeral rituals of the Thaos' relative, Uncle Por, relatives give up a chicken for Uncle Por to bear on his excursion to discover his ancestors. Shamans endeavor to mend illnesses through sacrifice to the spirits, for example, with animals. Hmong trust that the souls of creatures and people are firmly connected. They give up a cow to call Paja's soul home, a pig to assuage the mother's soul, and they tie strings around their wrists to keep their souls bound to Earth. In Hmong culture, the souls of conciliatory animals are joined with human souls, in this way, a shaman uses a animals spirit to protect the patient's soul. (McSilver & Siegel, 2001). The Hmong individuals trust

As Stein explains, this scriptural backing and myth has led to the widespread practice of serpent handling. The scripture provides the clarity that MacMillan defines as central to religious experiences. While the mythology has existed for centuries, Stein stipulates that the practice of serpent handling in Appalachia originated in the 20th century. The relatively new practice must be explained and understood in practical terms of anthropology. Stein and Stein provide five categories of religious rituals: technological, therapy, ideological, salvation, and revitalization. Since the ritual is focused on individual faith and action to follow the word of God, it can best be characterized as a salvation ritual. Stein and Stein explain that salvation rituals are focused on the “religious experience of the individual,” “have some mystical experience,” and in which an individual “is changed in some way, temporarily or permanently.” (Stein and Stein 86) Snake handling is a fundamentally individual experience. While parishioners go to church and watch the ritual together, there is no external pressure for an individual to take up snakes. Instead, believers are told that they will be moved by the Holy Ghost to take up snakes. Children are kept far away from the practice, revealing that believers want an individual to be fully aware and ready for the ritual if they should eventually

Rituals around the world all teach valuable lessons that help initiates see the value and importance of life. Each culture has different rituals that provide experiences for their youth to learn these valuable lessons of life. Many coming of age rituals are intense procedures. The Amazon's Satere Mawé youth enter adulthood through the bullet-ant glove initiation, teaching courage and endurance, and the crocodile scaring ritual that the men from the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea participate in teaches them pain and accomplishment.

The Nacirema is a North America group who lives around the area of Canadian Cree, the Yaqui, Tarahumare of Mexico, the Carib, and Arawak of Antilles. The ritual activity is a big part in the Nacirema's lives. They spend a considerable amount of time performing a secretive ceremonies and posses a great amount of tolerance. Their focus is on the human body appearance and health. It is to their believe that human body is viewed as ''ugly'' and ''debility and disease.” Hoping to eliminate those undesirable characteristic traits, the Nacirema's only hope is to do so through ritual activities hence the shrine is built inside of every house.

Did you know that the Burmese Python can grow up to be 23 inches long. They also can consume a considerable amount of the creatures that make their habitat in the Everglades. All citizens agree that these serpents are a threat to the ecosystem in the Everglades, and are drastically altering the Everglades forever.

His new owner is Edward Covey. Frederick Douglass is rented to this man for one year to “break him in”. Edward Covey is seen as one of the slave masters that can get slaves under control and break their wills. Edward Covey is called a “snake” behind his back because of his tendency to sneak around his own property to try and catch his slaves either slacking or acting in any sort of manner he does not consider to be right. There is religious significance to this nickname. When Mr. Covey is called a snake, it is a reference to Satan in the Garden of Eden. In the garden of Eden, a snake offers Adam and Eve an apple, which causes them to sin. In the way that Mr. Covey being called a snake by his slaves, it is a reference to how the snake in the garden of Eden was sneaky in the same way. When Mr. Covey seeks to scurry around his property to try and catch his slaves, he is further aligning himself with the snake from the garden of Eden. This is used to show what slavery can bring out in people and to give a hidden reference to religion as well. He gives this reference to Christianity to show how slavery and Christianity are intertwined

While the Native Americans and the Africans inhabited two different continents, their belief system has a plethora of similarities pertaining to their core values. The basis of their religion also, in some ways, epitomizes modern day religion such as rites of passage. Their differences are shallow in context when it comes to what they view as sacred and holy and including religious rituals that are performed for a specific reason or transformation. Both Native American and African mythologies center around the ideology of harmony, balance, and cyclical nature of all beings through animistic symbolization. To a certain degree, all outsiders or nonnatives who study the belief systems of indigenous religions have found that indigenous religion is more than just a religion or belief system but rather an inherent way of living. To name or label indigenous beliefs as “religion” or any other is to have a bias based on our own views of transformation and ultimacy.

Craig Martin, author of A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion, defines “functionalism” as an approach where scholars “look for a particular function religion might play in society” (8). Religion plays a large function around the world and for all people, regardless if one is religious or not. In the case of Dennis Covington, the religious ritual of snake handling has impacted his life greatly, most plausibly serving the function of simply creating excitement in his life. Although no one can truly tell if someone’s faith is genuine or not, there is evidence that makes it appear as though Covington is more-so involved with the religious ritual of snake-handling for the exhilaration over a deep faith and belief in it. This may not ring true for all of the other snake-handling religion practitioners, although it’d be reasonable to assume that it does for the majority.

There was also an exhibit of a “Cheyenne Rattle” which is used to treat sick people. The shaman would waive the rattle over the ill member’s head and they would be relieved of the evil spirits draining his body. Shamans and their people believed in these magical items. They were strong enough to drive out unwanted forces and sustain protective ones. They would combine a physical object with a spiritual force that would heal them from their sickness. Like the peasant and folk artist from “peasants and folk artist”, shamans were involved in a tradition that put a lot of pressure on them to become healers of their people. Sometimes they would have to go through extremes, such as depriving themselves of food or removing a body part to gain sympathy

The Diadophis punctatus, or more commonly known as the ring-neck snake, is a harmless nocturnal snake that lives throughout the eastern and central part of North America. In Idaho, ring-neck snakes can be found at the west and south-east part of the state.

When explaining the traditions and beliefs of those in the snake-handling church, Covington presents in the information within the framework of his life and his experiences,

Before snakes are thrown into the mix of stereotypes, people already find it strange for worshipers to put their hands up during songs, speak in tongues, jump up and down, and yell “hallelujah” at the top of their lungs. People already had expectations of Appalachian Religion, so when people began to take up serpents in the early 1900’s, it started to add fuel to the fire of pigeonholes.

In the book of Genesis, a snake brought temptation upon Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Used as a device of the evil, the snake institutes separation between God and man, thus forcing humans to live the remainder of their lives under the coercion of sin. In Numbers, chapter 21, God employs serpents to punish the Israelites for speaking against God (Wynne 1). A conflicting view is evident in this passage that corresponds with the story “Sweat”. In the Bible, God gave Moses instructions to form a bronze snake and set it upon a pole. Anyone that set their eyes on the pole would be relieved from their affliction. The serpents tyrannized the Israelites, but nevertheless, saved them from their maladies. Corresponding to the story, Delia is persecuted by her husband, Sykes, is represented in the form of a snake. The snake remains a constant hindrance throughout the story, but, becomes her savior at the end, despite its unwanted presence. A bite from it brings death to Sykes, thus freeing Delia of maltreatment. “she could scarcely reach the Chinaberry tree, where she waited in the growing heat while inside she knew the cold river was creeping up and up to extinguish that eye which must know by now that she knew” (365). The snake is a tormentor but becomes the redeemer. It implements hysteria upon Delia but is the source of her relief from her oppressive