Lik
Also called Mast of the Water.
Lik is the vast water snake of Gran Chaco tradition, so ancient and so still that moss and palms are said to grow along its back, and understood as the guardian of the river's fish.
At a glance
- Tradition
- South American folklore (general)
- Region
- South America (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Water-Beckoners
- Symbols
- Snake
Near this figure
and 1 more
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- Snake is Snake is a broad serpent symbol of creation and guardianship; South American traditions name Snake a primordial earth-maker and giver of hunting arts.
why
Lik is the vast water snake of Gran Chaco tradition, so ancient and so still that moss and palms are said to grow along its back, and understood as the guardian of the river's fish.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Algae or flora growing on body
why
What distinguishes the accounts is the emphasis on age and stillness: the creature is described as so long-established in its river that vegetation has taken hold on its exposed back, so that what looks like a bank or a stand of palms may be the animal itself.
- Serpentine elongated body
why
Lik is the vast water snake of Gran Chaco tradition
Behaviour
- Bound to specific body of water
why
Its stated role is guardianship of the fish.
Defensive powers
- Water guardianship
why
Its stated role is guardianship of the fish.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.
- Serpent carries both readings
3 citations
- Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters, and Dragons, s.v. "Lik."
- John Bierhorst, The Mythology of South America, p. 226.
- Theresa Bane, Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore, s.v. "Lik."
- Hero meets
3 citations
- Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters, and Dragons, s.v. "Lik."
- John Bierhorst, The Mythology of South America, p. 226.
- Theresa Bane, Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore, s.v. "Lik."