The snake on the table: Authority and control of the rain in a Huave oral narrative (Mexico)

Abstract

In this article I analyze some versions of a mythical Huave narrative, telling the tragic fate of a boy with extraordinary powers who, due to his indiscrete father, is forced by the municipal authorities to repeatedly face a giant snake that causes heavy rains and threatens to flood the village, and is finally killed by it. This tale not only stages the opposite cosmic forces which regulate the delicate climatic balance of the Huave region, but it shows how, since immemorial times, the ability to control rainfall constitutes a major symbolic attribute of the holders of political authority, which inspires important ritual practices and condenses tensions concerning the struggle for power between competing generations and individuals. The conduct of the various protagonists of this narrative also highlights the principles on which authority is based, the axiological and behavioral patterns to which those who aspire to attain and preserve it must adhere, as well as the dangerous consequences that await those who contravene these rules.