Others suggest that Yamatanoorochi was the god of a river and that she was originally a shrine maiden serving the god by giving her name a Chinese character meaning comb and depicting her as a shrine maiden wearing a comb.
また、櫛の字を宛てることからクシナダヒメは櫛を挿した巫女であると解釈し、ヤマタノオロチを川の神として、元々は川の神に仕える巫女であったとする説もある。