Dancing with Serpents

Belly dance is often described as serpentine because of the lush undulations, the swiveling pelvis, and the sinuous torso.

- Jezibell Anat

One of its signature moves is snake arms, in which the arms ripple up and down from shoulders to fingertips. An excellent web resources for belly dancers is called Gilded Serpent. But what is the connection with actual snakes?

In many ancient Mediterranean religions, the serpent was a potent symbol of the divine, representing wisdom and prophecy. A snake shedding its skin embodied renewal; the snake with its tail in its mouth formed the ouroboros, the world serpent encircling the earth. Snakes were often kept in palaces and temples for luck and magic.

The Egyptian serpent goddess Uadjet (sometimes spelled Wadjet) was a protectress and oracle. She was a royal emblem, represented by the uraeus, the cobra on the crown of the Pharaoh, coiled and ready to spit fire at his enemies. In Hinduism the Nagas are deities in the form of snakes.

On a more pragmatic level, snakes have been helpful to humans around granaries and barns, eating the vermin that would otherwise devour our crops. Their physiology is unique, for they are basically muscles around a long and incredibly fluid backbone, giving them a wriggling, slithering motion. They have been associated with water for their fluid bodies, with earth because their belly is on the ground, and with fire for their bite, though most are not venomous.

Two fascinating images from ancient Crete depict female figures dressed in the cinched waists, full tiered skirts and open bodices of upper-class Minoan fashion who are holding snakes. Though these women are often described as snake goddesses, or sometimes queens or priestesses, there is no written proof or reliable documentation of who they might be. But they are beautiful figures, and, if you visit Crete, you’ll find their statues of various quality all over the markets.