Rikki Tikki Tavi

Content Warning: This section references colonialism and ethnic stereotypes.

An allusion is a reference either to another work of literature or to a widely known person, event, belief, etc. For example, when introducing himself, Nag claims that the pattern on cobras’ hoods comes from the Hindu creator god Brahma, who “put his mark upon all [snakes] when the first cobra spread his hood to keep the sun off Brahm as he slept” (4). In Christian Europe, this association with a “pagan” god would reinforce the cobras’ villainy, already suggested by the mere fact of their being snakes in a garden, much like the serpent in Eden.

Hinduism, by contrast, represents snakes more positively. The particular legend Kipling alludes to in Nag’s introduction is unclear. He may be conflating Brahma, the creator god, with another Hindu deity: probably either Vishnu (the “preserver”), who reclines atop a giant cobra, or Shiva (the “destroyer”), who frequently bears a cobra around his neck, as the three gods are closely associated with one another. Regardless, traditional Indian culture recognizes the danger posed by cobras and other venomous snakes while also associating snakes with the divine.