Herps in Society and Culture: Persecution of Snakes in Haiti

While working on a small island in Eleuthera, Bahamas for the summer I encountered many Haitians that had immigrated there for a better way of life.  One day, working in the farms with them I started to notice a commotion behind one of the gardens. Rushing over, I saw two Haitians, one holding a 4 foot boa constrictor and the other coming down with machete just behind the head, decapitating the snake. This confused me greatly; I asked 1) why they showed such an extreme fear and 2) why did they kill it. Without getting much of a clear response because of the commotion and the language barrier between English and French I picked up that snakes upset them because they believed they had a connection with evil and had to be killed to remove that presence.

But why? After doing some research, I began to realize that Haiti is torn between religions. While on one spectrum, some practice Vodou and some practice Catholicism, and many have combined the two into a separate branch. The two Haitians I mentioned earlier are devout Catholics and fully adhere to Catholicism practices. The Haitian government historically shunned Vodou  culture and their practicing beliefs. One belief is that snakes are a special and sacred part of their religion. As we know Catholicism has historically preached that snakes were the original enemies of Adam & Eve and were thought of inherently evil.  Catholic priests in Haiti took an even further disliking to the fact that Vodou celebrated snakes. This misconception led to believing that Voodooism is the practice of dark magic through snakes. Sadly, Haitians practicing Voodooism are defiant that their religion is not based on dark magic and that snakes are so special because it represents the connection between animal and earth. With no limbs, the snake slithers on the ground meaning they are the spiritually one with the earth. This is what Vodou practicing Haitians strive for in their religion.

It seemed so bizarre to me this fiery passion against snakes existed until I had looked into Haiti’s religious past. It seems like boa constrictors will have to face persecution but at the other hand from an ecological stand point, these snakes are responsible for a large decrease in biodiversity of birds and other reptiles in the Caribbean islands.