THE ROYAL PYTHON

  

It is no news that some communities in the Eastern region of Nigeria has this special reverence for a 

particular specie of snake called ''eke'' in their local parlance. This age-longed traditional belief is very much evident in the Idemili North and South Axis of Anambra State. The communities in question do not kill or harm the snake, which they regard as the royal python. As a result, the ''eke'' usually patrol in and around such communities at will.

One mystery about the whole thing is that the snake do not also hurt the members of these communities in return. Some times, it crawls into people's abode. In such cases, the owner of the house simply shoos it away or uses a stick to gather it and throw away. The stick is equally disposed alongside the snake because the snake is believed to be capable of tracking the stick back to the house if it is left behind after disposing the royal and harmless python.

According to myths and legends, the snake is believed to be a totem of Idemili goddes. Idemili is the name of a big river in the locality, from which the local governments derived their names. In the past (even today in some places) people pure libations and prayers to the snake when it comes visiting because it was seen as a messenger of the gods. It is even believed in some places that each snake represents a life. Wonderful!

In the these communities, anybody who intentionally or unintentionally kills this snake is compelled by tradition to give it a befitting burial to avoid incurring doom upon himself and his family. While this animal is consumed as a delicacy in some places, it is revered in some other places. Different strokes for different folks!