18 August 2008 - Married To A Snake

Married to a Snake
18 August 2008

I am back in Thailand after a one week trip back to California to testify in a trial (Construction claim).

Today I will share an adventure that occurred in June.

In late May, Duang told me about a man in Isan, sometimes spelled as "Isaan" who had married a snake. The man was famous in Isan and many people went to see him and his bride.

In June, we went to visit Duang's family in their village called Nongwha. When we arrived, everyone was excited. It was decided that we were going to visit the man who was married to a snake. Duang's uncle was going to join us. As it turned out more people than just her uncle joined us.

Duang's son drove the extend cab pickup truck with me in the front seat with Duang, Duang's cousin, Duang's aunt, her cousin's 6 month old baby, some elderly woman, and another child about 4 years old in the back seat. We also had 5 people in the back of the pick up truck.

Many people in Isaan do not have cars or trucks so when someone has a vehicle and is going somewhere there is usually a crowd that tags along. It is not uncommon to drive along the highways and see a pickup truck carrying 6 or more people in the back.

We drove about one hour into the countryside to see the newlyweds. The couple live out amongst the rice fields. The area is sparsely populated with scattered clumps of trees along with rice paddies dotting the flat land.

It became apparent that we were getting into something. Both sides of the road were lined with parked cars, motorbikes, pickup trucks, somlaws, and songthaews.

Families, many of them comprised of four generations were walking along the paved road. Some entrepreneurs were set up along the highway selling various articles that would be of interest to any pilgrim at any other shrine in the world.

After a short walk under the relentless sun and oppressive humidity, we turned and walked down a dirt road. There were many booths set up along the dirt road mainly selling food and drinks. All in all there was a festive feeling about the place and people.

The people were excited and anxious as they walked to a modest hut. I estimate that there were at least 500 people at the farmer's house.

There was a large cage outside of the hut. The cage was typical of the metal cages fabricated in the area. Inside the cage was a large python. I estimate that the snake was about 3 meters (9 feet) long. Everyone was pressing to see the snake. I figured out quite easily that this was the bride.

I asked Duang to explain to me what was going on because I was confused and knew that this was something that I was not going to be able to figure out for myself.
According to Duang and confirmed by others who spoke a little bit of English - 600 years ago a man and a women were married. The woman was named Pyahna and he was named Ongpalat. Like everyone else they both died. Ongpalat has returned as a 30 year old farmer in Udonthani province - we don't know his current name. This young farmer recently had a dream. In his dream his wife from a long time ago was now a snake. After he woke up he went to work in the rice paddies. He became hungry and decided to catch some fish to eat. Instead of catching fish, he ended up catching a snake. He released the snake so that it could return to the wild. The snake would not leave him. The snake followed the man back to his hut and slept with him in his bed. According to the story, they slept together like man and wife. Duang says that the snake did not complain (as in coiling around the man and strangling him) or notifying the authorities about "boom boom a little bit" (my words). After two nights of sharing his bed, the neighbors complained so he built a cage for the snake to live. Some of the neighbors also had dreams which revealed that the snake was Pyahna.

I was the only "falang" (foreigner) to witness all this going on and soon attracted the curiosity of the crowd. I busied myself taking photographs and was enjoying myself. The happy groom came over to give his bride a bath in a large plastic tub that he had filled with clean water under a shelter of poles and tarp. At this moment in time, I realized that there were reporters and TV camera men amongst the multitudes. I exchanged pleasantries with one of the reporters. He then told everyone to clear the way so that I could take my photographs. I shared the digital photos with asome of the people and they were pleased. After the snake's bath, the farmer returned her to her cage.

The reporter from the newspaper then came over and interviewed. He asked me fairly typical and straight forward questions such as my name, my age, where was I from, how did I like Thailand. He brought me over to the farmer so that we could talk. The TV camera came and we ended up doing an interview.

The reporter asked me what I thought of the man marrying a snake. I replied that that if the snake was happy, and the man was happy, I was happy for them. I wished them both good luck. They then asked me about my country - "Did men marry snakes in America?". I replied that in my country, marriage was typically between a man and only one woman ( I consciously decided not to enter into a discussion of recent court rulings allowing same sex marriage in some American states or of the various poligamy cases in Utah). I added that his "bride" was very beautiful but that I personally preferred Duang. I understand that the interview was broadcast on local TV - I don't think that it ever made it on CNN or the Fox News Channel.

It was very interesting and definitely a new experience.