Man-snake bridegroom (Jamaica)

Overview

Richard Morgan tells of a handsome suitor who refuses ordinary meals and consumes raw eggs. The bride dismisses her brother Collin's warning. After the wedding, the husband returns borrowed garments along the road and takes her to a cave. As a yellow snake he rests in her lap and aims his head at her nose to draw blood. Her sung appeal reaches Collin, hunting nearby, who shoots the snake before contact and rescues her.

In Matilda Hall's version, the spouse sheds his clothes on the way into woodland and swallows the woman up to her hips. Her song calls three hunter brothers, Harry, Tom and John, who kill him. William Forbes gives a different ending: the richly dressed snake marries her that night and swallows her in bed while they sing; the parents discover the result in the morning. The recorded endings therefore cannot be combined into one obligatory rescue sequence. The tellers' criticisms of a selective bride are part of their narrative framing, not an endorsement of blaming people for a partner's violence.

Emilina Dodd of Lacovia offers an additional story86b with a lizard-transforming brother accompanying the couple. As the groom returns borrowed clothing, his snake identity becomes visible. His mother helps the captive wife escape, but a watchful cock alerts him despite gifts of grain. The first flight is stopped and the wife recaptured; a second reaches land before pursuit succeeds. The snake then kills his helpful mother. The unnamed substance he seeks before attacking his wife is recorded only as bump, without an explanation here; it is not assigned an invented magical recipe or species.

Origins & earliest records

Martha Warren Beckwith published these attributed narratives in Jamaica Anansi Stories (1924). Her preface identifies collecting visits in summer1919 and winter1921; the heading locates each teller without supplying an individual interview date. Publication is not claimed as the beginning of the oral tradition.

Records & interpretation

All three story85 versions read completely. Borrowed garments and nose-directed blood attack belong to Morgan; three brothers belong to Hall; the fatal bedroom discovery belongs to Forbes. Complete story86b, The Snake-husband, was also read; its maternal helper, interrupted escape and final retaliation remain separate from story85.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Jamaica Anansi Stories

   Martha Warren Beckwith; music recorded by Helen H. Roberts · 1924

   Story85, Man-Snake as Bridegroom: The Rescue(1), The Rescue(2), Snake Swallows the Bride. Complete selected narratives and attribution headings read. Also story86b, The Snake-husband, Emilina Dodd, Lacovia, complete.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary textBeckwith1924: Story85, Man-Snake as Bridegroom: The Rescue(1), The Rescue(2), Snake Swallows the Bride.Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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