Eagle warrior stands on feathered serpent
~ Amphiptere
~ Anthropomorphic
~ Fairy Dragon
~ Horned Serpent
~ Lindworm
~ Piasa
From the magnificence of the horned serpent to the divine nature of the amphiptere, the dragons of the Americas are nature-based creatures which, essentially, are barely discernable from the ancestral serpent. In literal terms, there are no dragons in the Americas- at least, none that fit the typical view of this fearsome beast. It is important to remember that the word snake is explicitly as the name suggests, pertaining exclusively to the extant reptiles, while the word serpent can include any creature ranging from a dragon, to a serpentine dragon, to a snake. Because of this, closer scrutiny is needed when weeding out American "dragons" from American "serpents".
If we were to take the term dragon on at face-value, we would find little outside the Western and Eastern world. There are a great mix of characteristic variables that run behind the physical screen of the American serpent-dragon, and it is these that need to be studied to decipher what is and isn't a member of the dragon family, however distantly or closely related.
Constructed by valley-dwelling Native Americans at approximately the time of Christ's birth (Littleton, 2002), the Great Serpent Mound of Ohio is truly massive, at half a kilometre in diameter (800 ft) (Unknown, 1996). The sheer intimidating size of the serpent encircling the hill, holding a smaller mound inside its cavernous jaws, is indicative of its importance as a focal point of Native American culture, with the Great Serpent itself holding significance since primeval times (Unknown, 1996). This symbolism is echoed in the Serpent Mountain of the Aztec people, situated in close proximity to the most important of Aztec cities (both physically and spiritually), Tenochtitlan (Hunt, 1999). This Serpent Mountain, actually a pyramid, formed the central point of the Aztec astrological world (Hunt, 1999). These are some of the earliest illustrations of anything related to dragon kind, and dragons themselves were completely absent from the early creation mythology of Central America (Littleton, 2002). However, the proto-dragon in its most anarchic form as a serpent, lacking claws and fiery breath, plays a prominent part in genesis.
In Mesoamerica where the primal universe was and is chaotic yet bound to the laws of predictability, the great emptiness before creation was void until two deities, the sea god Sovereign Plumed Serpent and the Sky god "Heart of Sky" (or Hurricane), came together to converse. Their deliberations began the process of creation as, according to the Quiché Mayan text the Popol Vuh, both gods were "great knowers and thinkers" (Littleton, 2002).
Tonacatecuhtli "Lord of our Sustenance", also called Tonacacihuatl "Lady of our Sustenance" was the two-sexed god/dess who had four sons in correspondence with the four earth quarters or directions of north, south, east and west. The third of these sons was White Tezcatlipoca or Quetzalcoatl (the Plumed or Feathered Serpent), who helped in the creation of many worldly things such as fire, men, calendars, and the rain and water gods Oxomoco and Cipactonal respectively. There are numerous stories and myths surrounding this highly-revered serpent deity of Central America, which involve creations of momentous importance, such as the world itself, to smaller things like pulque or octli, an alcoholic beverage.
In South America, the first woman Bachue or "large-breasted" came from Lake Iguaque with her infant son in her arms, who was later to become her lover, and with her populate the entire Earth. Eventually, Bachue and her son returned to the lake from which they had first come, farewelling their people with some advice and kind words before swimming away as serpents (Littleton, 2002). The involvement of water, serpents and metamorphosis is not uncommon among serpent and dragon beliefs, disregarding which culture and area of the world they stem from.
The South American dragon's origins are more humble than those of its neighbours; belief in these mythical desert dragons originates from the iguanas inhabiting the area, which were valued as a good source of protein (Osborne, 1988).
The ties between serpentine dragons and water is relatively common among American dragons. As mentioned above, the Plumed Serpent Quetzalcoatl was involved with the creation of the rain and water gods, and the first man and woman forsook their own bodies for those of water serpents. This link appears to be forged during the act of creation, which reflects on the American dragon's own primal form at this stage as a serpentine creature, and perhaps also upon the seemingly magical ability of the snake to recreate itself through the shedding of its skin. However, this often deceptively simple or chimerical composition is no less advanced than the complex forms seen in dragons elsewhere in the world, and is extremely important among the dragon family which encompasses a startling range of extremes from legless snake-like dragons, to an improbable six or more limbs. One such water-based dragon is the North American horned serpent, which lairs in the sea and is famed for its unstoppable heart that will continue to live despite the death of the creature (Nigg, 2002). This may represent a lack of solidarity or rebellion against the gods, many of which demanded human sacrifices which, traditionally, were fulfilled by the removal of a person's heart through a hole cut into their ribcage (Littleton, 2002). To the Lakota people, this corrupt independence may be further reinforced by the enmity shared between the horned serpent and the thunderbird, who represents Father Sky as a fighter against evil and an upholder of goodness (Bellingham, et al., 2001).
Unlike many other native dragons, those of the Americas were a mix between good and evil, having no real persuasion to either side. Rather than represent a higher, divine power or a terrible evil against mankind, they share naturalistic ties. This is however no real reflection on the serpent dragons themselves; it does not lessen their mythological role but rather is in tune with the earthly society with which they were connected. While some predominantly seem to herald mischief (eg. horned serpent) and some goodness (eg. Plumed Serpent), they collectively encompass the wide range of good, evil and all between. On top of this, the American dragons have a number of supernatural properties that contradict their streamlined, pared-down appearance (save for the feathered serpents or amphipteres that are famed throughout Mesoamerica for having iridescent feathers, wings and forelimbs). These paranormal attributes may include an immortal heart, body parts that cure maladies and the ability to jump great heights from water into the air (Dragon Fantastic, 2001)1.
South American serpents, in particular those with two heads, were symbolic of obstacles or dangers, usually caused by a person's ill-doings. As one story details, a rich man once fell sick; the cause of his disease was revealed to be a two headed serpent who, representing his unfaithful wife, ate away at him (Osborne, 1988). The imagery of the two-headed serpent appears again as the devious creation of a defeated Peruvian fire god, who led the serpent to attack his rival Pariacaca, god of storms and flooding (Bellingham, et al., 2001).
The American serpent-dragon was highly involved with established society, including the darker aspects of death. Sacrificial killings were not seen in a bad light and were a necessary part of Mesoamerican life. Unlike many other dragons, the serpent-dragon of the Americas did not have a two-fold nature as such; there were no real personality variants within the race. Their temperament was rather mainstream, seeing death and the more sophisticated aspects of a culture, such as the structure created by observing a calendar, as something that was simply important. As a symbol for change through challenge, the serpent-dragon may represent difficulty that leads to triumph. Death was usually intermixed into life, as the Mesoamericans commonly used war and force to subjugate their neighbours (Littleton, 2002). A Mesoamerican temple which peaked in activity between 100 AD and 750 AD depicted the feathered serpent of the Americas, and was appropriately titled the Temple of the Feathered Serpent by archeologist Manuel Gamio (who excavated the citadel between 1917- 1922) (Bahn, 1997). Later discoveries revealed 120 sacrificial victims, most of whom were warriors in their prime and were dumped in mass graves around the temple (Bahn, 1997). This gory bloodshed however did not disrupt the serpent-dragon's place as a cultured, civilised being who represented virtues- of which peace was not one (Littleton, 2002)- including upholding a strong government and faithful religious adherence (Allan & Lowenstein, 1997).
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