CHUMASH AND RATTLESNAKES

Rattlesnakes were pets of the sun (as the chief deity). The threat of a rattlesnake bit begins in the early spring and continues through most of the fall. An ‘antap, i.e., a shaman, would perform a rattlesnake dance to protect the entire community against rattlesnake bites. Rattlesnakes only bite those individuals who are bad. It was also believed that the folklore of the Chumash could only be told during the winter months when the rattlesnakes were in hibernation. Otherwise, someone would be bitten by a rattlesnake. (Source: Travis Hudson and Ernest Underhay, Crystals in the Sky: An Intellectual Odyssey Involving Chumash Astonomy, Cosmology and Rock Art, page 136.)

Mike Kuhn

7-4-01