Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 53

The great Rainbow Serpent of Dahomy mythology.

Aida Hwedo carried the creator Mawu from place to place as she went about creating the Earth. Whenever they stopped for the night, in the morning there were mountains – the piles of excrement left by Aida Hwedo. When the creation was completed, Mawu realized that there were too many large objects on the surface of the Earth and that it was likely to break apart as a result. So she brought Aida Hwedo and commanded him to coil around the inside of the earth’s crust. To prevent the serpent from being overcome by the heat, Mawu placed the sea around him to cool his skin. However, if he gets too hot and shifts in his place, he causes earthquakes. Aida Hwedo lives on a diet of iron bars, but when these are exhausted he will begin to swallow his own tail, at which point the world will be destroyed.

Belief in the rainbow serpent survives in both Surinam and Haitian Voodun belief, and great efforts are made by these people to ensure that the creature is never angered. Thus, before young people marry, if either of them is devoted to Aida Hwedo, they make special offerings to prevent jealousy or resentment in the god.