This is a special carving called a fetish, made by various American Indian tribes especially in the Southwest region of North America. Signed T.Y.Y. This particular serpent is from the Zuni Reservation. The Zuni, unlike some of the other tribes in the area, revere snakes and consider themselves a warrior culture as any Zuni traditionalist will tell you for themselves.

The serpent is connected with lightning and the most ancient forms of consciousness. A true Zuni serpent fetish will have a jagged zig-zag form like this to call to mind the lightning aspect. As well as this, the King of all the Serpents, Kolowisi, lives underground in the water reservoirs filled by storms brought by lightning. This Kolowisi god is archetypally similar to the great Abzu, the underground water dragon of Sumerian cosmology.

Powers of the serpent include ancient forgotten knowledge, storms, concentration, transmutation, deadliness, wisdom, power and sexuality.

This is a very good example of Zuni art, hand carved of white alabaster, which is a fine quartz rich marble. The rattle of the tail is well delineated. White is also a great color for the snake fetishes since it calls to mind the lightning which snakes are intimately entwined with in Zuni culture. The blue eyes represent lifegiving water that accompanies lightning during storms, and the Kolowisi.

The fetish is already imbued with the animal form's spirit, it isn't necessary to call upon one to live in it. It may be placed on altars, in medicine pouches or on one's desk for meditation. One may also sprinkle corn meal on it and wash it for a ritual of honoring the spirit, or place water and corn meal in small bowls for it.