Feeding milk to snakes
The fourth day after the festival of lights the snakes appear deep in their pits waiting for our milk and worship. The women pour turmeric and milk on the pits.The snakes inside the holes receive them on extended tongues and bless them with more children. The pits were built by industrious ants but their holes are now houses for snakes.
Just in case the snakes are still sleeping inside the pits , the children burst crackers with loud noise. The snakes then wake up to drink their milk.
The snakes are nice fellows who do not normally come out to harm humans. But if the husband snake has been killed by a human the wife snake will follow him to his bed and finish him off there itself. The snake wives love their husbands so much.
We do not want to take chances. That is why we feed them milk every year without fail.
