Snake Handling Research Articles

No Poor among Them: Poverty and Mormonism's Trek toward Secularism

No Poor among Them: Poverty and Mormonism's Trek toward Secularism

Designing Educational Board Games For Children On Snake Handling Using Competitive Mechanisms

Education with material and only listening to explanations make some people bored so that the information they want to convey is not well received. In addition, there is a lack of media that can educate snake handling and facilitate children in learning in a fun way and can be played outside of study hours. This study aims to analyze an educational board game for snake handling using competitive mechanisms in children. This research uses a descriptive method. The techniques used in collecting data are interviews, observations, and questionnaires. The instrument used to collect data is a questionnaire. Sources of data obtained from previous studies, online articles, and interviews will be analyzed descriptively. Based on the results of data analysis, the board game as an educational media about the basic handling of snakes has a positive impact on the target. 80% of the targets who do not understand handling snakes and other types of snakes understand and enjoy the education implemented in the board game media. It can be concluded that educational board games can educate children about snake handling using competitive mechanisms.

Occupational allergy in the handling of snakes from the Center for Studies of Venom and Venomous Animals CEVAP/UNESP

Occupational allergy in the handling of snakes from the Center for Studies of Venom and Venomous Animals CEVAP/UNESP

Safe Handling of Snakes in an ED Setting

A local snake consultation vendor and zoo Herpetologist assisted with development of a process for snake identification and disposal. All snakes have been identified and securely disposed of using the newly implemented process and no safety incidents have been reported. Other emergency department settings may consider developing a standardized process for snake disposal using listed specialized consultants combined with local resources and suppliers to promote employee and patient safety.

Taking up serpents: Religious snake handling in the United States

Taking up serpents: Religious snake handling in the United States

An Analysis of Media-Reported Venomous Snakebites in the United States, 2011–2013

Venomous snakebite is a widespread natural hazard in the United States. A common perception exists that the majority of these snakebites are "illegitimate," resulting from deliberate interaction with snakes (such as attempting to move or kill the animal), but there is little quantitative information available regarding the conditions under which bites occur. To better understand the circumstances under which victims are bitten, we compiled a dataset of media-reported snakebites in the United States between 2011 and 2013. A total of 332 reported snakebites were recorded. Of these, 307 were from snakes encountered under natural circumstances and 25 were under captive-care conditions. Most reported victims were adult males. Although some bites occurred during intentional handling of snakes and such activity may relate to bite severity, the majority of victims reported being unaware of the snake before they were bitten. Accidentally stepping on or placing the hands near an unseen snake were the activities most frequently associated with bites under natural conditions. Although bias in snakebite reporting patterns by the media is likely, across the United States "legitimate" bites from unseen snakes appear to be the norm.

Dennis Covington’s Salvation on Sand Mountain : Descent and Vision in the Southern Memoir

Dennis Covington’s Salvation on Sand Mountain: Descent and Vision in the Southern Memoir Michael Odom (bio) Southern memoirs often follow a conventional pattern: a writer grows up in the South, experiences a crisis of identity with the cultural values, and eventually overcomes this tension by migrating North, through education, or both. A pattern typified in Katherine Du Pre Lumpkin’s The Making of a Southerner and Lillian Smith’s Killers of the Dream, southern memoirs often depict a writer who flees to find herself, only later to emerge as a more objective critic of the South. Such memoirs by southern whites often come to terms with a moment of crisis centered on race. While these moments of racial awareness may center on pivotal childhood experiences—Lumpkin witnessing her father abusing a black servant and Smith being told that white and colored children cannot play together—they are recounted by an adult who has fled the South and metaphorically returned through the writing of the memoir. In the second paragraph of Killers of the Dream, Smith explains: This haunted childhood belongs to every southerner of my age. We ran away from it but we came back like a hurt animal to its wound, or a murderer to the scene of his sin. The human heart dares not stay away too long from that which hurt it most. There is a return journey to anguish that few of us are released from making. (25–26) [End Page 96] While these childhood moments set such writers on a path for understanding themselves and southern culture, the literal and figurative separation from the South enables these writers to write about race in such a forthright manner. Depicting the South as antagonistic to their development, such memoirs make it imperative that the writer transcend cultural constraints in order to achieve a sense of vision. Dennis Covington’s Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia documents a spiritual journey into the heart of a marginalized religious culture, offering an inversion of this prototypical approach to southern memoirs. From the opening pages of Salvation on Sand Mountain, Covington centers on not race but religion as a key to understanding the South’s identity, and he takes great pains to present a fair and sympathetic perspective of snake handlers and rural southerners alike. Covington’s initial interest in snake handling culture begins when he is a journalist for The New York Times covering the Scottsboro, Alabama, trial of Reverend Glen Summerford, who is eventually convicted to serve ninety-nine years in prison for attempting to murder his wife with the same rattlesnakes used in the services of his church. Rather than viewing the trial as an amusing spectacle of southern freaks, Covington becomes fascinated with the earnest faith of the snake handlers. Covington’s interest is not driven by mere curiosity; he becomes charmed with the snake handling culture in what amounts to gonzo journalism at its finest. Attracted to “the passion and abandon of their worship,” Covington engages in a compassionate investigation into a culture that has been derided as grotesque (67). In what follows, I reveal how Covington employs a rhetorical approach of self-writing that is typical of southern identity memoirs while differing from their epistemology of cultural isolation. While many of these memoirs differ from Salvation on Sand Mountain in their writing about racial injustice and violence, I will show how Covington’s focus on spiritual issues enables him to grapple with the same cumbersome history and social issues that have long plagued the South. By inverting the conventional pattern of transcendence, Covington generates a vision of southern identity in memoir that comes at a price: his descent into soul and south will involve a de-centering of self, a disorientation that results from engaging in a snake-handling culture that also holds the key to his identity. In “Open Secrets: Memory, Imagination, and the Refashioning of Southern Identity,” Jacquelyn Dowd Hall argues that Lumpkin’s The Making of a Southerner perfectly exemplifies the memoir’s dual function of self-expression and social commentary. Hall argues that Lumpkin’s “turn to home” after her Northern education functions as a...

Handbook of Pentecostal Christianity

Handbook of Pentecostal Christianity is an easy-to-read guide designed for those interested in learning about one of the fastest-growing religious traditions in the world. Adam Stewart's unique collection presents concise, yet comprehensive explanations of some of the most important terms and concepts needed to understand the origins and development, as well as the beliefs and practices, of Pentecostalism worldwide. Twenty-four scholars from five continents provide entries, which are written from disciplinary perspectives as diverse as anthropology, biblical studies, black church studies, history, religious studies, sociology, and theology. The fifty entries shed light on such topics as the Azusa Street Mission and Revival, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, exorcism, Godly Love, prophecy, snake handling, and the Word of Faith movement. Each entry also includes a brief list of references and suggestions for further reading. These brief, engaging explanations of aspects of Pentecostalism can be read on their own or alphabetically from start to finish. In its entirety, Stewart's text provides the reader with an introduction to the history, theology, practices, and contemporary forms of Pentecostalism as it stands at the outset of the twenty-first century. Stewart's handbook is an appealing introduction to Pentecostalism suitable for both students of religion and the curious general reader.

Declining snake population—why and how: a case study in the Mangrove Swamps of Sundarban, India

Species diversity of reptiles is much higher in Sundarban than in other mangrove ecosystems in India. Presently snakes are declining in Sundarban due to habitat loss caused by tremendous population pressure. Besides, irresponsible killing to avoid snakebite both from poisonous and nonpoisonous varieties is another reason for the gradual declining snake population. According to an intensive household survey in 35 villages in Sundarban, about 22 species (five poisonous and 17 non-poisonous) of snakes have been identified and there appears to have been a general decline in densities. On the contrary, a large number of people are bitten and die from snakebite every year with 0.57 and 0.34 vulnerability and mortality rate per 10,000 people, respectively. The two most commonly observed poisonous species are the common krait, Bungarus caeruleus (51 %) and common cobra, Naja naja (40 %), and that of non-poisonous varieties are the Ptyas mucosus (41 %), Typhlina bramina (34 %), Xenochrophis piscator (12 %), and Amphiesma stolata (10 %). Apart from killing of snakes out of fear; habitat loss, unscientific handling of snakes by snake catchers and charmers, and netting by fisherman contributes to snake mortality to a large extent; 72 % killed snakes are of poisonous varieties, 60 % of which are B. caeruleus, the most venomous snake in Sundarban. This paper is an attempt to highlight some of the important conservation efforts like the introduction of snake firms, alternative employment channels for the snake charmers and catchers, and mass awareness campaign through panchayet (village level governing body) and local NGOs.

Global pentecostal and charismatic healing

This book explains why Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity is a rapidly growing global phenomenon. Although often caricatured and reduced to speaking in tongues (glossolalia), prosperity, or snake handling, this volume reveals that the primary appeal of pentecostalism is divine healing and deliverance from demons. Globalization heightens the threat and fear of disease, fueling growth of religions that are centrally concerned with healing. In Latin American, Asian, and African countries where world Christianity is growing most rapidly, as many as 80 to 90 percent of first-generation Christians attribute their conversions primarily to healing for themselves or family members. Even in the United States, 62 percent of Pentecostals report healing experiences. Contrary to popular stereotypes of flamboyant, fraudulent, anti-medical “faith healing” televangelists who preach a materialistic, “health-and-wealth gospel” or sensational “exorcism” of demons, this book offers a more nuanced portrait. The chapters illumine local variations, hybridities, and tensions in practices, depict human suffering and powerlessness, and explain the attractiveness to many of a global religious movement that promises material relief and empowerment by invoking “miracles” and spiritual resources. Achieving the twin goals of thick description and comparative analysis of global practices is best achieved by bringing area experts into conversation. Sociologists, anthropologists, historians, political scientists, theologians, and religious studies scholars from the United States, Europe, and Africa write about illness and healing on six continents. Read together, these chapters generate and set the agenda for a new program of scholarly inquiry into some of the largest forces of change reshaping today’s world—globalization, pentecostalism, and healing.

Serpents, Sainthood, and Celebrity: Symbolic and Ritual Tension in Appalachian Pentecostal Snake Handling

Intense media coverage of Appalachian Pentecostal-Holiness serpent handling sometimes causes a switch in signifier/signified relationships. The snakes used symbolically in this practice are grounded less in traditional religious meaning, and more in a certain recent secular meaning: from signifying faith in the Holy Spirit to indicating the value of celebrity status. This phenomenon is analyzed in a framework of theories about symbols and rituals, and is then described in a series of ethnographic observations at a serpent-handling church in Kentucky. This case study raises some troubling issues about how cosmopolitan media represent a distinctive local culture.

Encyclopedia of religious rites, rituals, and festivals

Contents Include: Agricultural Rituals. Altered States of Consciousness. Ancestor Worship - Africa. Animal Rituals. Asceticism. Australian Aboriginal. Birth Rituals. Blood Rituals. Body and Ritual. Buddhism. Calendrical Rituals. Cannibalism. Catholicism. Chinese New Year. Christmas. Day of the Dead. Death Rituals. Divination Rituals. Diwali. Easter. Fire Walking. Food and Rituals. Gender Rituals. Glossalalia. Greco-Roman. Healing and Rituals. Hinduism. Hopi. Humor and Rituals. Hunting Rituals. Iban. Islam. Jainism. Javanese. Judaism. Magic. Mardi Gras. Marriage Rituals. Matsu. Mbuti. Melanesian. Micronesian. Millennialism. Music. Naming Rituals. Nature Worship. Navan Ceremony. New Year's Celebrations. Newala Ritual. Nuer. Oaths and Ordeals. Orthodoxy. Paganism and Personal Rituals. Pilgrimage. Political Rituals. Polynesian. Possession/Trance. Prayer. Protestantism. Puberty Rites. Purity and Pollution. Ramadan. Rastafarianism. Revitalization Rituals. Rites of Communitas. Rites of Passage. Ritual and Symbol. Ritual as Communication. Ritual as Performance. Ritual of Performance. Ritual Specialists. Rituals of Purity. Sacred Places. Sacrifice. Santeria. Satanic Rituals. Scatological Rituals. Secular Rituals. Shakers. Shamanism. Shintoism. Sikhism. Snake Handling

Booklist and Notes

Booklist and Notes George Brosi Arnow, Harriette Simpson Old Burnside. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, an unstated 1996 reprint of a 1977 release. 129 pages. Trade paperback. $10.95 Harriette Arnow (1908-1986) is best known for The Dollmaker, published in 1954, a novel unsurpassed in telling the story of Appalachian migrants to midwestern cities. Her nonfiction works reveal meticulous research and artistic presentation virtually unmatched as well. Arnow was born in Wayne County, Kentucky, but lived from the age of five to the age of sixteen in nearby Burnside, the uppermost navigable port on the Cumberland River, now inundated by Lake Cumberland. For this book Arnow wanted a social history of that community laced with a subtle polemic against "progress," but her editors, to her dismay, pushed her for a more personal story. She was never satisfied with the results, but the critics and public have thoroughly enjoyed the blend. Connolly, James A. Three Years in the Army of the Cumberland. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, an unstated 1996 reprint of a 1959 release. 399 pages with an index. Hardback in dust jacket. $35.00. Trade paperback. $14.95. Connolly (1840-1914) was a lawyer in Charleston, Illinois, in August of 1862 when he raised a company of soldiers from the area. As part of the Seventh Illinois Infantry they joined the Army of the Cumberland and fought at Perryville, Kentucky; Chickamauga and Chattanooga , Tennessee; and throughout Georgia. In a diary and letters to his wife, Connolly gives a very readable and meaningful account ofwhat life was like for a Union soldier in the Tennessee and Kentucky hinterland . Covington, Dennis. Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia. New York: Penguin Books, a George Brosi sells both new and out-of-print books through the mail, and brings a display of booksfor sale to regional events. His address is Appalachian Mountain Books, Route 2, Whittier, North Carolina 28789. His phone number is 704-586-5319. 74 1996 reprint of a 1995 release. 240 pages with photos. Trade paperback . $11.95. This book was one of five finalists for the National Book Award in nonfiction last year because it tells a vividly compelling story. It recounts the spiritual Odyssey of an Alabama reporter who became personally involved in snake handling in a hill-country church. EhIe, John. The Journey ofAugust King. New York: Hyperion, a 1995 reprint of a 1971 release. 218 pages. Trade paperback. $10.95. John EhIe is one of the major Southern Appalachian writers of his generation. His eleven fiction works include a series of historical novels of the Western North Carolina mountains. His six nonfiction works include, most notably, Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation. This novel, TheJourney ofAugust King, has just been made into a Hollywood movie. It tells the story ofan antebellum mountain farmer, August King, driving his livestock to a faraway market who begins to sense the presence of another person undertaking a parallel journey. Tension mounts as that individual is revealed to be a runaway slave girl and King must decide which of the many possible courses of action to pursue. Gladney, Margaret Rose, editor. How Am I To Be Heard: Letters of Lillian Smith. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, a 1996 reprint of a 1993 release. 384 pages with an index, bibliography, and photographs. Trade paperback. $14.95. Although born in South Georgia, Lillian Smith (1897-1966) lived in the mountains of Rabun County, Georgia's northeastern most corner from her teen years on. In 1944 she published Strange Fruit, a pioneering antiracist novel. Killers ofthe Dream, a nonfiction book ofSouthern life and problems, followed in 1949. Smith was set apart from mainstream society not only by her independent accomplishments as a woman and her progressive politics but also by her lesbian relationship with Paula Snelling. The 145 Lillian Smith letters collected here illuminate both the social context and the life of one of the Appalachian South's most courageous and creative personalities. Green, Terence M. Shadow of Ashland. New York: Forge/St. Martin's Press, 1996. 221 pages. Hardback in dust jacket. $17.95. This is a novel about the efforts...

Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia (review)

Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia (review)

The Art of Snake Handling: Lamia, Elsie Venner , and "Rappaccini's Daughter"

The Art of Snake Handling: Lamia, Elsie Venner , and "Rappaccini's Daughter"

Maintenance of a snake colony for the purpose of venom extraction

Observations on the maintenance of a snake colony designed for venom collection are presented. The importance of cage temperature and construction, as well as methods of snake handling are described in detail. The authors' method for obtaining coral snake venom, venom extraction procedures, apparatus and concepts on proper feeding are included. In addition, techniques for shipping and isolation of newly acquired snakes, with a discussion on detection and prevention of disease are presented.

Snake Specialists in Iraq

Folk specialists in snake-lore may exercise their interests in several directions. They may seek out, detect, handle, and remove snakes; they may manipulate them for entertainment; they may possess, claim, or confer impunity in the handling of snakes and immunity to their venoms, and they may possess or claim special powers in the treatment of snake poisoning; finally they may train apprentices to these various ends. Such specialists (professional snake-charmers apart) are often persons endowed with supernatural power in other spheres of activity. They may be seyyids (descendants of the Prophet), fakirs, holy men, practitioners of folk-medicine, dervishes, sorcerers, or persons possessed of holiness or baraka for any reason. Common terms used of such people in Iraq are sheikh and seyyid. Such specialists fall naturally into several groups. There are the frankly insane, the victims of dissociation and the subconscious; there are the ignorant simpletons who have so far been lucky, and to this category belong the conscientious but deluded religionists; there are the informed and quick-witted rogues who know their species and take care to handle the harmless snakes only, and lastly there are the genuine charmers, who have specialist knowledge and skill, who know their natural history and who handle poisonous species, over which they have obtained safe control either by the taming of familiarity and gentle handling or by extracting periodically their fangs, or venom, or both. The last group may also immunize themselves to specific venoms by inoculation. In Iraq the writer did not encounter or hear of any of this last type.