Crates...of snakes
First off, as a long-time internet researcher (because 'the hell else am I going to do in the middle of nowhere) of religion, magic, mythology and symbolism, I have to say there are a LOT of sites out there that are true fluff or outright wrong. They tend to make associations the way the tinfoil hat crowd does...essentially through misinformation or lack of credible info, they wind up saying things like "well, obviously the Big-foot legend is just a cover-up for the reptilian invasion." WUT....
At least, for this piece, I will attempt to avoid such insanity.
Today, I want to talk about snake veneration, specifically serpent-folk but we'll throw in some extra stuff while we're at it. But how are we (Afterpants readers) to discuss the idea of snake veneration within the context of underwear???? How about this for starters:
(By the way...we are currently unmonetized here at Afterpants....so no...Ethika didn't pay us to put their shorts on our blog...it's just a really great pattern...)
Now, if you're Christian...you already think you know what snakes and (gasp!) snake worship are about. Snakes are bad...blah blah blah. However, for a larger portion of the world, serpent veneration is this huge deal and nobody shy's away from it (or calls it evil)
If you know nothing about snake worship...please read this first:
(The mention of Ancient Egyptian temples keeping special places for snakes is false...again, it's just a 101 blurb...don't think too much about it)
If you want a little more info:
There are just a few things I want to mention regarding "serpent people."
(Yes, I'll be going back and forth between "snake worship" and "serpent people.")
Serpent people play a role in the religions of several cultures; most notably Ancient Egypt, Hinduism,Buddhism and Shinto. With the exception of Shinto, all the rest accord serpent people similar characteristics:
A. Serpent people live in special places underground
B. Serpent people are divine
C. Serpent people come in a variety of forms incl. but not limited to: giant snakes with human attributes from the waist up, serpents with multiple arms or heads and humanoid reptiles with legs and arms.
D. There is no single underworld which houses them. (IE..there are multiple places in the underworld/otherworld to find them)
E. Serpent people have magical abilities.
(Personally, I believe that A.-E. are true and that there is a sort of "mega-underworld" where these beings live. That from ancient Egypt to Tokyo, cultures realized this spiritual truth and interpreted it in a variety of ways.Also that this place is not a place for humans...humans...go elsewhere...)
In Ancient Egypt there are serpents and serpent people with a variety of roles.
Protectors of the gods!
Guardians of various gates and treasures!
Torturers of the terribly naughty!!!
In Hinduism (especially) serpent people (Nag, Naga) have a very special place.
The Naga are said to reside in 7 realms of the underworld (Patalas) (which I just found out is NOT "hell" proper but unique places that have really nothing to do with humans.)
This one requires a bit of explanation. The larger figure is termed Kala Vishnu and is meant to represent how the deity "Vishnu" encompasses all life and all worlds...but this is not our focus. Note the lines separating the various Patalas. The lowest one, in the feet is called Patala (proper.) The rest of the realms have various names but are collectively viewed as Patalas. The lowest Patala is meant to be the beautiful (more beautiful than "heaven" btw) realm of the Naga kings...lovely, no?
There are temples (mostly in the South of India) where people can come and venerate the Naga. (In larger, mainstream Hinduism, they have been assimilated (like the feet of Vishnu or the beds or chariots of the "bigger" gods...but Naga veneration was once a non-standardized, non-humanized faith...
An example of the standardization...this mandala (made of the 5 "natural colors") is a mandala of weddings and childbirth. A person wishing the Naga's blessing for a happy marriage or healthy child, goes to this mandala and makes offerings to it.
This is a Thai illustration of the tortures of hell....I guess no one told these giant cobras their cousins are living it up in the penthouse...lol.
This is a pretty great illustration of a full-blown naga;
(Pay close attention to that loincloth...we'll get to snake-pants later on...)
Buddhism came along with their own brand of standardization...
Like their Hindu cousins, the stories of Naga in Buddhism became morality plays, espousing the virtues of the Dharma, making Siddhartha the hero and the Nagas sort of rascals who "just needed the teachings" to be good guys...or whatever...
In Shinto, the direction snake veneration went was a bit more esoteric. It branched into two separate categories:
A. Actual snake worship at the Shirohebi Shrine
B. Folklore RE: the Nure-Onna...supposedly a "snake woman" that lives near bodies of water.
A white snake @ the Shrine
"the shirohebi as being a beneficial, good fortune summoning guardian deity of the home, and are believed to have helped their numbers multiply as a result of this belief."
An old print of a Nure-Onna.
As with Hinduism, while "big snakes" are inhabitants of several of the Japanese underworlds and there is a slight possibility that the "harrowers from Izanamis hair" can be considered serpent people, in general, Nure-Onna are considered dangerous right now, here, in this world.
But again! How do we relate this to underwear??????
Fret not dear readers...for I have solved this issue.
Many modern artists have portrayed serpent people for themselves, for games, illustrations for graphic novels and (as above) modern interpretations of serpents in a spiritual context.
Some of these illustrations depict serpent people as wearing no clothing, others...with waist coats or armor...as I have a large collection of serpent people illustrations, I've selected a few to demonstrate the Naga-woolies for you;
Here is a fine example. This figurine is for play in the Dungeons and Dragons game set, or possibly the Lot5R gaming system. Our serpent person is dual armed, single, serpent headed and is wearing a large belt with armored, green loincloth
This brilliant blue serpent man is wearing a hip-adjoining, silver gilded loincloth with 2 layers and a crest emblazoned.
This one may be part of the "furry" genre but possibly not. Either way, he/she/it is wearing an Egyptian Shenti (see previous entry)
Serpent headed, with arms. Chained belt with multi-colored under wrapping and tassels. Lovely.
Serpent headed, Egyptian style. Magic loincloth, armored...personal fav...
But I hear you saying..."but what are we...mere mortals...to do?" How can we get in on this serpent veneration by means of a fashion statement?...Have no fear...I've thought of this as well:
A fantastic boxer brief...covered in gold scales...looks great on or off...lol
But you're not a tourist...you want those serpents to know you're with them 100%...why not try some delightful black and white scaley socks??
Still not enough? Do you desire to shed your human skin entirely...of course you do....
Incidentally, there are a number of tops to go with these...but uhm...perhaps NSFW?
Some people prefer a minimalist approach...for my part, I prefer underwear that has a bit more coverage...
My personal fav. A snake skin loincloth...outstanding!!!
Alright, well...that's enough for today...I think I have made my point...which is, of course...serpent veneration is super awesome...
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