Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog, Adder's Fork and Lizard's Leg: The Lore and Mythology of Amphibians and Reptiles

329 Pages·2015·25.37 MB·English

by  Marty Crump

Eye of Newt and
Toe of Frog,
Adder’s Fork and
Lizard’s Leg
Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog,
Adder’s Fork and Lizard’s Leg
The Lore and Mythology of Amphibians and Reptiles
Marty Crump
In collaboration with Danté B. Fenolio
The University of Chicago Press : : Chicago and London
MARTY CRUMP is currently an adjunct professor of biology at Utah State University and
Northern Arizona University; she has been a herpetologist for more than forty-five years.
For at least that long, she has been intrigued with the folklore of amphibians and reptiles.
She is the author of In Search of the Golden Frog, Headless Males Make Great Lovers, and
Sexy Orchids Make Lousy Lovers, all published by the University of Chicago Press, as well
as the recent award-winning children’s book, The Mystery of Darwin’s Frog.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2015 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2015.
Printed in the United States of America
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 11600- 6 (cloth)
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 11614- 3 (e- book)
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226116143.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Crump, Martha L., author.
Eye of newt and toe of frog, adder’s fork and lizard’s leg: the lore and mythology of amphibians
and reptiles / Marty Crump; in collaboration with Danté B. Fenolio.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-226-11600-6 (cloth: alkaline paper) — ISBN 978-0-226-11614-3 (e-book) 1.
Amphibians—Folklore. 2. Amphibians—Mythology. 3. Reptiles—Folklore. 4. Reptiles—
Mythology. I. Fenolio, Danté B. (Danté Bruce), author. II. Title.
QL644.C73 2015
597.8—dc23 2015012981
♾ This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1992 (Permanence of Paper).
Major funding for color throughout was provided by
The Ecology Center, Utah State University
Additional funding was provided by
PARC ARC MCZ, Harvard University
Southern Nevada Herpetological Society Evelyn R. Savitzky
And by
Chicago Herpetological Society East Texas Herpetological Society
Tucson Herpetological Society Save the Frogs!
Anonymous
Nancy Huntly, Thomas E. Lovejoy III, Alan H. Savitzky
North Carolina Herpetological Society
For Al
Contents
1 1 Talk to the Animals
25 2 In the Beginning: Creation Myths
41 3 Snakes: “Good” or “Evil”?
65 4 Songs and Thunderbolts: Frogs, Snakes,
and Rain
83 5 A Second Chance: Frogs, Snakes, and Rebirth
99 6 Of Love, Morals, and Death: Amphibians
and Reptiles in Folktales
115 7 The Lighter Side: Trickster Tales and “How”
and “Why” Stories
131 8 Tailless Wonders, Naked Serpents, and
Fire Lizards: Perception of Amphibians through
Folk Beliefs
vii
155 9 Marshmallow- Eaters, Methuselahs, Spiny- Backs,
Were- Lizards, and Protectors: Perception of Reptiles
through Folk Beliefs
183 10 Move Aside, Viagra: Reptile Sexual Power
199 11 Pick Your Poison— Blood, Venom, Skin, or Bones:
Folk Medicines
217 12 Like a Hell- Broth, Boil and Bubble: Witchcraft and Magic
235 13 “How ’bout Them Toad Suckers”: Other Ways We Use
Amphibians and Reptiles
265 14 Singing Tuatara from Their Holes
Acknowledgments 289
References 291
Illustration Credits 301
Index 305
viii CoNTENTS
1
Talk to the Animals
one thing to remember is to talk to the animals. If you do, they will talk back to you. But if you
don’t talk to the animals, they won’t talk back to you, then you won’t understand, and when you
don’t understand you will fear and when you fear you will destroy the animals, and if you destroy
the animals, you will destroy yourself.
—CHIEF DAN GEORGE (1899– 1981), Tsleil- Waututh Nation, North Vancouver, British Columbia
O
n the other side of the world from British Columbia, an Aboriginal
elder from Victoria, Australia, fishes from a riverbank with his young
grandson. He begins, “Son, I have much to teach you. The rivers and lakes
sustain us. The forest is the resting place of our ancestors and home of the
spirits. If the land dies, if the water dries up, we, too, wither away. We de-
pend on Rainbow Serpent, who taught us that we must care for the land,
the water, and all animals.” He continues:
In the beginning, before life on Earth’s surface, Rainbow Serpent and all the
other animals slept underground. One day Rainbow Serpent awoke, crawled
onto the surface, and surveyed the dry, empty land. She made rain.
The rain soaked into the parched land. After years of rain, the water filled
the tracks left by Rainbow Serpent’s body and formed rivers, billabongs, and
water holes. As she pushed her snout into the earth, Rainbow Serpent formed
1