Scales, Serpents, Scorn
September 2024
Of all photos of animals I’ve taken over the course of VERITAS, only birds and fishes got the most attention. I’m not referring to the photos I shared here or on Flickr, but those I presented in-person (as in I saw you seeing my photos and sharing your feedbacks).
Most of them even flinched when they saw my photos of snakes.
Even with such elaborate presentation, I couldn’t make people appreciate the beauty that lies on these animals, along with their majestic colorations and body shapes that could strike resemblances to certain styles of contemporary art.
I don’t really blame them though. Ophidiophobia — fear of snakes — is, according to some sources, one of humankind’s primordial fears. We’re talking about fear of animals that could spell death by only a mere bite or two, and a quick one at that.
Being a primordial instinct, fear of snakes shape who we are as a species. This manifests in the way we look at ropes, slinky spring toys, wires, or pipes that helped diverting the water collected from the air conditioning process.
This is especially important when it comes to venomous snakes, like the island pit viper I took photos at. It was strikingly beautiful, having scales adorned with solid turquoise blue as mesmerizing as a discus’s scales or a macaw’s feathers (somehow befitting for what may be inspiring the design of Quetzalcoatl). But we can’t deny the fact that this snake is highly venomous and therefore handling is pretty much off limits for non-advanced people like me.
That’s why I photographed this splendid viper just like how I photographed fishes. There were inconveniences but it’s better than either losing my right arm or my life. Remember, one of the requirements for working VERITAS is being alive.
Not all my snake encounters are like this. Some snakes are eligible for physical contact, like the curious ball pythons with all their curious ‘morphs’. This snake species is quite peculiar in terms of ease of handling, personality, and their willingness to stay still.
Knowing that some folks in western Africa worship ball pythons (the snake temple in Benin comes to mind), I quickly see the kinship between humans and ball pythons.
The more snakes I encounter, the more I see how much we grossly misinterpreted these wonderful living beings. I even say this out of my own conclusion (like how I think snakes being considered as evil entities in religious teachings and they often being associated with malevolent magic irrelevant) though I’d like to give a shout-out to the late Steve Irwin.
Being ‘cold-blooded’ isn’t really an excuse for not having a plethora of personality.
Such an eye-opening experience. I do understand ophidiophobia since I still have ‘that feeling’ when I see snakes, or even whatever that resembles them, but for me, it’s more of a sense of alertness, respect, and understanding than pure fear and ‘kill or be killed’ kind of feeling.
Maybe the way those who flinched at photos of snakes is identical to the way I saw dogs. Come to think of it, people telling me I’m weird start to make sense.
Why am I afraid of dogs? Rabies?
Rabies is even nonexistent in urban areas but I just can’t help it. Same with snake venoms. I understand why, but I’d like people to stop killing snakes out of fear.
I hope I don’t get to kill dogs out of fear just like I don’t kill snakes out of fear. I think based on multiple nuanced, context-heavy knowledges, capturing and releasing snakes to better places is a more preferable option.
Remember when I typed ‘grossly misinterpreted’? That’s how I saw people who kill snakes in most situations.
