Snake worship Snake worship Snake worship is devotion to serpent deities. The tradition is present in several ancient cultures, particularly in religion and mythology, where snakes were seen as entities of strength and renewal. In Africa the chief centre of serpent worship was Dahomey, but the cult of the python seems to have been of exotic origin, dating back to the first quarter of the 17th century. By the conquest of Whydah the Dahomeyans were brought in contact with a people of serpent worshippers, and ended by adopting from them the beliefs which they at first despised. At Whydah, the chief centre,
The Great Snake Serpent". "Poloz" () is the word for the snakes from the Colubridae family. The character of Poloz the Great Snake is based the Ural legends, miner's omens, and on the superstitions of the Khanty, the Mansi people, and the Bashkirs. The legends about Poloz, a giant serpent 6–10 meters long, still exist at the Urals. In the Bashkir folklore there is the character the Master of Gold, which can appear as various animals, including the snake. At the Urals he is also called The Serpent or The Snake King (Змеиный царь, "Zmeinyj tsar"). It is believed that the grass turns