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This is the first of a three-part recording in which Daniel Wellborn records a religious service at the Church of God with Signs Following in Cartersville, Georgia, which practices snake handling. It begins with an unidentified man preaching to the congregation about salvation before he switches to speaking in an unknown tongue. At 11:10 the service includes upbeat, gospel music with a piano, tambourines, guitars, and drums. Next, the congregants lament and pray loudly in tandem. At 27:27, the music plays again. At 28:25, another unnamed man gives a sermon that lasts until 1:00:12, after which upbeat music plays until the end of the recording.
George Went Hensley founded the Holiness Churches in 1909. He was inspired by a passage from the Bible, They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. He introduced snake handling to the Holy Roller Churches of the South known for faith healing, speaking in unknown tongues, and laying on of hands. James Wade led the Church of God with Signs Following, located in Cartersville, Georgia. The church held regular meetings every Saturday night, and on the first Saturday night and Sunday morning of each month that featured sermons, music, and snake handling. Daniel J. Wellborn (1950- ) was raised in rural North Georgia and graduated from Georgia State University. Additional biographical information has not been determined.
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'" ,,' , .. an individual's Burrison Folklore Class name or an organization) Collection Name (Within the Georgia Folklore Archives organization) Creation Date Exact Date (yyyy-mm-dd) /C{{F:r K'X'),) '0 n~ li() 11' I' (use only one) Year (if only the year is known) Circa (4 digit year) Year Span From To Object Type Image_ Text I - Text and image_ .. Video and sound - Sound only~ Media Format Reel-reel (VHS, reel to reel, etc) Recording Hours: R.. extent Minutes: ~~ " 00 Derivatives Access copy: Yes or No Access copy format: !~ Recording clip C~~;Jr No Clip extent: 8: (}'d Time code for Beginning: 7h~,(') '1 ',.-#.:J :'.i'f':/~t End: " I :1')::; W71f~~ clip (h:m:s) /.cJII'1 1'"s:I~_<;o Notes R~ ( Ch,)\ (1 ~, (, n ) \ ','. I ~" l \C',\\ I}' ('" , '(:' '\ \)i('(' (;.\ cr, ~._:)(i) (l (J,) 1 1,1 (interview '. summary) "j"'" SJ \('\1\ 10 II ()UJI'\ <s'" .:::)" t\ h (' VV'J' 1c) lin Cuf ~~) (\:\c, c\c \ (~~l , .:sC\lI') C '\/('\', ' \\ .. ..'-. 'e :='i.'\ \ '\ ;1 'I.)) \ 'f! 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Local Name Location \E)~ GJ(\ to, I t\ s \/1 t, , \ if'", \ \ ,'\.:" Subject What AHC Cataloger will complete this for you, (LOC subject headinas onlv) Keywords Burrison, John Personal names See subject who for additional names \j..)fJ. ('){) ) . j ('( 1,1 \'f i.'., 3 Corporate names Geographic locations (IL\ \ l,%' \ ", \) \ \If' ,:'1 "-,.,, . < ! 'Ii ~ j 1", .; t Topics r~e. \I r~1 on (\ ' (V\ \)., l C 4 Daniel J. Vlel1born " ,I ~I i! , , Field Study CHURCH OF GOD VII1'H SIGNS FOLLOmNG ( Snake Handling Cult ) Anth. 408 Fal1 1969 ,III ,I, J \ ') ( !, , I ,I ; 1I I , I Ii i I \1 II '. ! iI, I' I, !, I' iIII I: I I, i . EARLY HIS'l'ORY In order to attempt an understanding of the snake cult and its participants, it is necessary to look at its origin and early history. For this information I shall turn to La Barre (1) who adequately descl'ibes both aspects. The cult originated in the settlement of GrasshoPl~r Valley. Tennessee in the summer of 1909; its originator ~Ias one George Went Hensley. He was pmldering a text from the Bible which perticularly impressed him, and seemed to be a sign or comm8nd from God. The pass8ge from Mark XVI, verses 17 end 18 " and these signs shall foll01'l thorn thet beHeve: In my N8me shall they C8st out devils i they shall speak. With new to"ilgues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, H shall not hurt them; t;hey shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. prompted him to go into the mountains in search of snakes, in order to test his faith. He caught a lar'ge rattlesnal{e, which several days later he carried to a Holyness meeting at nearby Sale Creek., After reading the bibUcal text to the congregation he thrust the snake tOl~ard the people for them to handle. and thereby prove their falth. Prom this beginning, Hensley carried his snake eult to other COli1mt\l1ities of the rural south. His evangelical wOI'l{ wa s mont succes sful in the independent fundamental 1st "hoI y 1'01101'" Church. Since the "holy rollers" alreiHly indUlged in SUCh.pl~ctlceB.. AS felth healing, speaking in u~{nown tongues, pnd the 1Dying-on of hands, the int;roductiOl1 of srwke handlJ,ng into t.heix~ r01J.gl01! l'!c:f) rIot COYJSJdOr'8c1 2 redic81 stop Bnd was I''!I .' I;',; ;1 i;:I ,,I ,[ i: III III I generally accepted. 1. LaBarre, Weston. Tn~z_0b8~~l-1_k~~R_~~~P.~~~,Univ. of Minnesota Press , :1 1~ ,~ " 'I Ii " '1I: i! iIIII I, II II , I, , When this field project was assigned I \'las rather apprehensive about the vlhole thing since I have had very little religlotis baokground and no ti0s With any religious group. The first weekend l'Iasspent driving the dirt'x'oacls of rural west Cobb Co. searching for one of the small "Holy Roller" churches \Ihlch. abotlt 10 or 15 )'001"8 ago were common in that area. 9.'his search :pl'oved ftltlle. It appears from the nel'l bricl< homes end subcHvisl.ons vllli,eh h0ve.becn bunt in these areas, that "progress" has forced these churches to move farther into the rUH11 eroes. Tho folloNing I'Jeek my wife WAS told by a eo-worl<cr thet Ray Moore. en Atlanta T.V. reporter. had several yeers ago filmed 13 documentary on rel1giol1s 'in Georgia.' She then contected Nr. Moore end found him extremely l1el1)1'1.11 in supplying informat.l.on about the Va:ri01.1S religious groups he \led come in contr;ct VJith. One of the groups' suggested by Nr . Mool'e was the snake-hencHing cult about to be described 1. n th.l.s report. Having had a rural bacl<grotmd in North Georgia, I' had heard many t;ales about tho snal<e-handlers; but never had the opportunity or the ~eed to attend any of their meetings. , Consequently the stt!c1y of this group has se~'ved t\'lO pm'pOS(lS: the flllf 1.11mont of the COUNlO l'oquiroments, al1Cl tho sat;iso< faction of my curiosity conoernlYJg thJ,s facet. of rural foll<-Ufo. 'l'he (ollo\'llng Sa turclvy afternom1, my \11fe and I drOVe' II! : iI ,I i I , !: I!I i 1 \ I : I! ;\ I .1 :II . II ; .,,i I I ! , I ' [ i -2- up to Cartesville to try and locete the Church end lts proachG!'. We did not \mow the exact locatlon of tho Church. but had been told that it wes located about 5 miles south of Cartersville, off the Rockmart Highway, end that the pr'oac her's name was Luther \']ade. AfteIl' stopping several tlmes at country stores for info:rmation, we finally located the ChurCh and Mr. vlade's llouse (;whlch is actually locatedl on h1ghl~ay 6t, the Dallas Road, about 2 miles from the Rockmart hlghway cutoff). " 'l'he house was as I expected a small frame structure rather dllapidatedln eppeerance, and located ina grove ,of trees about flfty or so feat 'fl'om the road. 'T'ho yar(l was bare red dirt wHhout any sign of grass. In front of the house l11J8 parlwd a late model pick-up truck. and leaning against trees in the yard were verious items:: a COUPle of old plow stoc\(S, en old iron wash pot, various pleces of lumber, etc In answer to my \mook Mr. Wail.e, a congenial man in his leta sixties, camo to the door and greeted us. He \'18S barefooted, and \wre blue denim overells With a brmm \{\18\(J. shirt. After explelning our presence end desire to attend churoh services, he offered us a seat on the p01.'oh while he went lnsitle to get; his shoes. He returned a couple of. minutes lat;er CIH'l'ying a pair of worn brogans whicn he proooec1od to pvt onwh1.1e we tall(ed. Durhlg 0\11' oonverGation he told us about; the religion and oont1.nuouly elaborated his points \'Ilth biblical quotations. At one point I pulled out a pac\( of II ': I' ~. j: i { j. I' i' t[ r !I \ii tIi II~ii -3- cIgarettes and offered him one. He declined, saying that the churoh f orbiu s smoking, drinking, and other \~ordly vices. He further pointed out that before being oonverted to his present religion he heu beon prey to ell these vices, and had been a true sinner. Nol'I, the Holy Ghost had .helJXJd him change his evil ways. He didl\Ot, however ;either object to or discoUl'age my After apprOXimately fifteen minutes of conversation his wife, e woman of about !l'i.S seme ege \1e8ringe plain cotton print dress,and with long braided hail' coHed atop her heed, appear(~d at the door to remind him it was time f01' church. Nr . \olade pointed to the top of tho hin, about 200 yards from his housc oxplaining that a small cUrt road tbere \/ould lead to the church) and that he would be along shortly. \ole drove up the rut-fl\llecl road past severe,l \'IeatrJ01'beaten houses, reminisoent of sharecropper shacks common in the South, to the small church on the left side of the road. \ole found tho church to be e sInoll co:ilcl'ete blook structure. approXimately 20'x30', painted White, w1th doull1e dOOrs at the elltronce. Above the entrance is a crudely letter'ed sign: Church of God with Signs FollOWing. To the right of the ChUl'ch and about SO feet away 1s a clear area containing 6 or 8 graves '\'/1 th modest; heodstones) 811d faded plflstiC flo~wrs. '1'0 the rear of tho ohurch two crudely bullt outhouses stood w1th their slab doors ajar. Mr. \lade arrived FJhortly) and opened the padlocl< securillg I i the door. By this time other people begDn to arrive, some in cars and pic!{-up truc!(s, others on foot from neal'-'by houses. The women Nore calf-lengbh cotton print dressosj all had long, hairtypicaJ.ly gathered in a bUll at the baok of the heBd (only a few variations of this style I-Iero observod) j all lacked makeup. The men generally wore cheap cotton pants and sport shirts, although a couple of the older men wore blue denim overalls. No ties were worn at any meeting; as a matter of fact, during a later meeting a visiting preacher declared that if the Lord had \Vanted them to wear ties he would have said it in the Bible. The l'Ialls ,and cel1illg of tho church are pailltecl a pale green; r-8ndomly distributed about the walls ere several prints depicting various biblical subjects. The church is lighted With four bare 200 watt bulbs placed in'the ceiling. In a back corner is a ga s hee tel', its bar-e COppen' suppl y line tr1 Hine; . down the wall. 'l'hrae smell Wil'lclcJ1'/s, a small side dOOI', and tho main enl;rance door provide cross vontilation fop SUlillJ10r time meetings. In one of I;he side \'Iindo\'ls, wi thin close access to tho preacllor, is placed 8 buc!(ct of \'I8t;or and a dipper. The furnishings consist; of a doul!Jle 1'01'1 of crude. apparel1~ tly hand made, slat pews (extremely unoomfortable). Between the two rO~IS of pevrs an'o:j.sle rUllS from the door, to th,,! altar", {a', small,', unil1rpressi vo, ,woodon, bOX-like affair \'lith a \'Ihite ~lOodon 01'OS6 nailed to the front). ry'o either Bide of the altor, , and at right angles to tho main pe11 II , are othel' pews. Behind the alter stands ::m old upright plano, on top of wh1ch ~m II I . I I IIII I -5- arran~('ltne!\t of plastic flo~lers 1s displ!fyed. Mr. Wade's son James, a heavy set man in his lnte thirties, arrlvGcl carrying a small wooden and soreerMl.re box (containing the sn8kes). After introducing himself to us, he went to the front of the churoh end ber;!m the service. I w111 omit a detailed description of thismeetin~ since I think that, probably due to the low attendance (about ten peoplo present). it isnon-typioa1 of the weekl Y. meetine;s. I will, however, describe a few details whioh are of interest. Luthep Wa de fUl'nished the onl y music with an electrio guitar . No other instrument, not even the tambourines werc) usec1. There was little interaction among the congregatiCll'l, evonthough James \oJede handled the rattlesnakes f(lr about ten minutes. Conditions apP. ~Arently Ne.re .not' right to bring about any release of emotions. LuthE1!' Hade, ~Ihne playing the guitar. sat in a troncc-lilw unemotional state I staring fixedly into spa co. Hy O',]J1 emotions were unmoved, as compared with lator meet ings. There l~as no excitment in the air. I .i :1 :) I; Li HIi I I, 'I Ii 'I 11 :11,,!I\ I II I PAR'I'IC I PA N'rS .: , i :1 i ,I- '-- II 11 ~'~C: . -6- The Church holds its regular meetings every Saturday night., and on the. first Saturday nlght and Sunday morning of each month. The regulm> Saturday night meetl.:ngs are attended by people in the surrounding areas vlith occssio:rlal vi,S.\.tol'S from Churches in other areas. The "ftrst Sunday" meetings are what ono might call "homecomlng meetings". Greater 21ImborB of people attend, preachers and members come from Churches in other parts of the state. and frequentily from other states as well. Luther Wade related that at one meeting people were PI'cse:tlt from et least five states ... some from as far aVlay as !Kentucl<y. I Since the two categories of meetings vary considerably from one another and the differences result in different cUsplays of emotions, I Will desoribe what I consider a more typical meeting from each category. I sha 11 begin. wi th the deScl'ipt:\.on of a regular Saturday night meetl.ng. vie arr1 ved at the church at about sewm-thi.l'ty, and found several pe Op10 standing around outSide and talking. Luther Wade greeted us \'1l'lrmly whe.n we got out of the Cal) and \;e jOined the conversation. \'Ie tallwd about the the Church and Vlll'ious aspects of the Religion. I mentioned thl.1t;I had readsnalw-handling is against tIle law in many states, and that many meetings bad been 1'a ided. I then inqulrod if the sheriff had bothel'oel them. He rOPll.<;Jd that they bnd never been bothereel, but that the Church at Dolly Pond, Tennessee had hod a lot of trouble, in the peat. He grinned with dolight \;hem he recotmtocl hoW the , , I -7' C'll1grogation hod once outfoxed tbe shel'iff, and sU,pped rattle:; lW\(C S through the' barred windoNs of the jail to members locked Insidc. I asl{ed about the danger of srwke-handling: had he over boon bit, and had ho ever SOOn anyone die after being bi tten? lie 1'0plled that H ',8 porson is reody he won' t get bit 0 he he s to feel the "Holy Ghost" befo~'e he can safely picl, up the 8n8\(08. He added that he had been bitten perhaps fourteen times by tattlers he had been too eager and hadrt1t beon ready to 11'lndle them. He fm'thel' recounted that he had S00n people d,ie from snake bite, that tbey had prayed for'them and had done all thoy could to help, and yet tho person had dlod. I,asl{t;d whether U1' not they tool< t,he poisoned person 1;0 a doetol': 'to which he l'oplied that by the time a doctor could b,e reached, the llerrwn lIould either be pest the 01'18is or already dee,d. He concluded that it is better to pray and asl< for God's help than to seek " doctor. r~ost of the cOIJgregation had erri'led by this tilDe, so we \",1kod In church and set dOI'Ill. 'l'hree women arrived together in' I, Vol l(sl'iagol1 j this struok me as tmusuPl, pick..,up trucks and ;,::orlean cars beilJg the rule. I later learned that. they were f1'om the Smyrna 81'ea possibly the V.W. is a sign of "urban ',ceulturatlon". They had brought with them guitars and tambourines. "11,1 furnished tho music for tho service. One of them also played 1'h8 congregation COl18h;ted of about 25 persons, and tambO\l')' l nos N81'e scattered throughout the group, probablY siX or elgl1t ;'Hogother. Ono young man in hls tWElllties WJS sitting oil a bench ! , , I i I I I ! , IiI: behirid the altar, holding cymbals. His appearance puzzled me: his clean cut looks were those of' a college student. Later, however, when he testified, h1.s voice, speech, mannerisms betrayed his Cl~ss. 'l'ambourirlCs seemed to be strictly "female" that .i, seating arrangement within the church also was based on sexual is they were pleyed by ~Iomen only, or young girls. I have yet seemed to be' '!male" always carried and played by men. The The main body of the church as well appeal'ed loosely segregated area behind the altar the right side W<\S (thiS ~18S true of the less crow(1ed meetings); during the crowded to see a tambourine played by a man. Cymbals, on the other hand, segregation. In the , I 1Ii I 1,I occuPied by female Pa:t'ticipants only, the left side by males. (Fig .1&2) I, I I \ '. ~ "I' meetings segregation was lmpractical. At any rate the tendency :,. toward tho clustering of all males in sepal'ate groups fr'om the females was obvious. The female musicians took their places behind the altar and "warmed up" their instruments. The service began ~lit;h a couple of songs, accompanied by the Piano, guitar, cymbals, and tambourines. The VOlume achieved was intense ,even clamorous. The music seemed to reverberate from tho wells and surrounded mo I .! found it hard to control the urge .to clap my hands. The intense. volume., the simple beat, the confined space are thEl nocessary ,; catalysts in the arousal of emotion. I do not believe the same ;, reSUlts could be achieved in 8 larger bUilding. After tho singing, James I'lade began to preach. His voice increased in tempo until he was speal{ing fast and unintelligibly (the un\0,own tongue.), ~Iith gasps for ail' at the end of each -9- sentence. (Fig.2 ) His voice vlculd occasionally drop to a normal tone as he emphasized a specl.fio pOint. He preaohed for about twenty minutes; then a visiting preacher fr'om Covington toolt over. His voice was not Ss powerful as Wade's, nor.did he speak as fastF hl.s overall manner was not so l.mpressive. He preached for about ten minutes; then he beg8n to direct his sermon directly too a young man sitting in front of me. The latter, in his early twenties, was roug~ looking,' with bloodshot eyes (possl.bly a heavy drinker). His mother, a regul(J!' member, sat in front of hl.m. It was obvious from his reser'ved behaviour and appearance that he vias nota member and felt uncomfortable. I had overheard his mother spealting to Luther Hade at. tho beginning of the meeting. She had confided that her son had been in trouble wit h the law, was drJ.nking and sta yingout all night. She had talked him into coming to the meeting, hoping that he might get. the "Holy Ghost" and return regUlarly. 'rhe preacher delivered a "hell, fire, and damnation" sermon, all the time look:lng directly at the "bleck sheep". I could see that the latter \'Jas extremely nervous and uncomfortable as soon as the sermon ended he wal ked out. After the sermon, sl.ngl.ng \'las resumed,' thl.s tl.me louder and more vigorous than before. Mid-way through the song, James Wade opened the snDke cage and removed the snakes (two large tl.mbor rpttlers, about 3. feet long). He held them loosely l.n his hands raising th"m 8bove hl.s heed and strol<i.ng them lightly on the thl'o8t; and 'belly, OUg~3 .&/;) The' Vl.sitl.ngpreacher tool{ one of the snakes but held it shortly. Jmlles I-ladeappesred very emotional, but r0laxo(~, while he was lmndll.l1g the smlcos, whe roaG tho visltl.ng prescher (F 1[';. 5) seemed m01'O tonse. At one time, vlhHe I was taking photographr; i,, Ii iI I, -10- of James v/ade handling the snake:;;, the visiting preaoher piokod up a baby in his arms and stood behind Wade he soemed to be posing for the Photograph(Fig.6 & 7)The young man ~1J.th the oymbals walked baclk and forth strl.king tl1em. to the beat of the music. At one point l1e experienoed 131'1 emotlon~31 release: setting the cymbals down , he proceded to stomp the floor, smash his right fist repea- . tedly into the palm of his left hand, el1d cry out phrases suoh as "Preise the Lord", ,urhank you Jesus", etc., (Fig.8 & 9}There were also variou.s ,displays of emotion from the remeindel' of the congreg" tion, moans) prlll.sesto the Lord, end tearful eyes ~l0re common. A red-hef)ded ~Iomon, sitting in theboc\( row, h8d ar;peered uncoilcel'= ned and unemotional throughout the entire service. Suddenly she stood up, faced the wall, begen to stomp her feot and shako violently. 'l'his lasted for about five minutes; then she stopped as abruptlY as she had bea;vn, sat back down, and regcd.nod her After about fifteen minutes the sna\ws were returned to their cage, the singing ceased, andtbe wbole congregation soemed relaxed. , James Wade then called on various members to testify. The individual that testified was generally emotional; in almost eve\oy instance he related how he h8d once beon a sinner untn. he had "got the HOly Gho"t" ana I'Ih8t a better life he now had. After everyone had testified,. James 2s\(Od H members of the congregotJ.Ql1 hed eny femHy Ot' friends thotl1oeded pn?yer. SeverDl people pl'nyed for sio\( relatives, then visde colled for. everyone to jein in. 'rho prDyer session consisted of everyone kneeling on t;hb -11- floor; each peT'Gon seemed to soek his o~m corner, so as not to fece ;Jl1ot,her iiHlivldui11. (Fig. 9 & 10) E:flch one spoke' his personal prayel' aloud: the totol effect W<)S noisy confusiorl. 'J.'he l'oar of voices gr"duGlly subsided as everyone' finished his prayer. , ' Finally James Wade inqul,red if anyone else wanted tospeal< up or add anythlng. Some made comments of one sort or another, then all began to leave. The service had ended after a durotiol1 of 2' 1/2 hours. I t t IIII I \ I' i 1. Note long hair and calf-length dresses, l'he three Homen on the left are from the Smyrna area(see text) 2. James Hade (blue sh1.rt) speaking 1.n the uriknoHn tongue. The old man Hith outstretched arms is Luther Wade. Fig. 1 &2 illustrate degree of se~\al segrogation among participants. 3-5. James Hade handl1.ng the rattlesnakes: note the YO\l11g man marching baok and forth I'lith cymbals. 6. ,Note fadal expression of Homan in blue dress and the visiting preacher (Hith his baok to the camel'a; he has just picked up a baby, soe toxt) 7. The Visiting preaohel' "posing" \Jith the baby in his arms. 8. Young man H1.th cymbals and Luther 'dade. 9. Young man pound1.ng his fist into his hand (see text) 10. Prayer sesslon .1 -12- On Saturday, November 1st (the d8te of the "first Sunday" meeting in November) we left home e8rly, hoping to arrive in' c time to set up my tape recorder before the meeting st81'tod. ',\8 cal'rl.ved at about '1:30 and found the church already c!'owded. ',0 found an empty seat at the rear and set up our rf:corder. Several pe oplc were tuning up guitars, ot,hers wer'c tal1<1,ng excitedly; greetings were being exchanged; there was an overall hum of excitement throughout the bunding. In reference to gX'oet ings, I observed men greet ing ot her men wlth l{lsses, and Vl0men kissing other women, but between the sexes the only g~ectlng was U [1811dsh81<0. By '1:45 the church was pacl{0di people were standing in the 01s10 and in the doorway. The service qegan with James \'lade preaohing In the "unknown tongue". This lasted for about fifteen minutes alld was accompDniod by crying babies, moans. and shouts, ",jlwns" 811d occ8siomll floor stornplng from the congl'ogotion. li0 ended his sormon by saying in reference to the church: "This \:, (J free place to do the truth", After the sormon the sl.ng111g began, accompanied by olectric Cultllrs, a drum, tambourines, cymbnls, Piano, hand clapping, and root stompine;. The song I'las long and ropeti tious, the' chorus being ~:unc; over and over again. It was during this firs't SOll&; that tho !,,,ttlefmokes wore hanclled for the first timo.(F.ll'-l.lr-)Tn addition to ~. 1 ,,1', ,,'ado's two lax'ge sl1alws, someone had brought a box of sWJal10:r ntl;lol's. A nUf:lber of individ\J3ls handled '0h(-1 sna!wf;1: one young :::)n \':a8 obnorvec1 holding fOUl' ox' fivo in his arms .at a tlme. Ona of th" womel1 got the "Holy Ghost" end bege}) to ye.l.l.(Flf~.5), ; ; i i i' II. IiI. (: I I' I i " "II l, '. Hel'msnnerof speech suggested that she was "possessed" and the "HolY Ghost" was spea\<ing through bel'. She came to the bac\< of the church" where I was standil1g I and spoke in 11igh pHched ,; tones directly to me saying: " ~lhat have you not be dismayed '! for'my hand is in his ~Ihy must your heart might not be I'ight tonight, but if you'll'seek me this I can allow my life". To thls, theithole congregatlon moaned and lnterspersed their cries wlth the typical praises to the Lord. Luther Wade carne over to me end explained that the Lord had spoken to me through her. He emphesired thc.t I should feel proud; this ocourrenoe is so rare thst he hed only seen it happen once or t\~ice befol'c. James Wade catoe over later &nd told mo essentially the same thing. Hovlever, there WEISEl curious note in his behavior . he was highly emotional and whlle speaking he was stro\<lng my arms w1th a trembling, jer\<y motlon. Other songs were sung and there was frenzied interaction among the congrega tion: old women in the ir seventj.as., who had hobbled intleanJ.ng on canesp~lere now hopping about, moaning and yelUng. A teen-age boy was shaking and hOPPing in a frenzy his face contorted and covered With sweat,he shouted his praises to the Lord; he rema.ined this agitated for es many as t(m minutes pta time. (r" ig 17 & 18) 'rho red-headed woman previously mentl,oned was aga.\npresol1t; her behavior was exactly the same as that of the previOUS meetlng. James \vade "tarted 8l1Other sormon, Blld Pl'8oohod for another fifteen or twenty minutes. Othor tunes W3:rO played I but tl1ere I I . , ; i ! : -14- waS no singing as such ... merely shouting and clapph1g. '1'he snakes wore brought out egain : six or oight people h8ndled thorn, particularly the visi tine; preachers of which there were several. No women handled the snakes; as a matter of faot I have not seen any woman handle the snakes nor Come close to the altar while they were out of their box. James vlade eventually coiled a big rattler on the altar, and it lay there passively for more than ten minutes. Several of the visiting preachers were called upon to testi~ fy. A one-armed preacher from Aragon, Georgia (between Rockmart and Romo) spoke first- he spo\~e of Jesus and the pl!'rseoutions he suffered; at one pOint he equated Jesus' persecutions with their own. He wes fairly successful in arousi!~ the congregation, eventhough his mt1nner of speaking the "unknown tongue" was different and not as effective as Wade's. After he finished his sermon he added:" we own a 11.tt1e bUilding down at Aragon, Georgia. We hove a meetiTJg down there evory Sunday night; Id 11\,s for all of you to come down. Ive have the spirit of the Lord down there, ond we feel good. The Lord blesses us real good ~Ie pay the light bill, we pay the gas bill; I'think the church ought to support itself, don't you'? If any strangors wBnt to Come, come on. Vie don't beg you out of your money. we don't beg you out of yOUY' poc\)tboo\~. All we try to do j.s get you to 1ivo right If you want the spi,rit of the Lord to be kHlod in 0 ChUl'Ch, you just let 13 preacher got up there beggi!lg moneYi ~ie gotta heve this) we gotta haye that. we gbtta have tho oth0r'~. 'l'ho next man to tostify and pre8ch \'I8S a \'IEl1.der from Romo; -15- Georgia. In his sermon he seid:" ~soU1etimes a (welding) spark hits me fOnd I move my hand- IC8n't help myself ... ,that's the way the power of God hits you- it'll move you und you can't help yourself H you lJ.ve right. l.t'll move you". Another man from Ar~.)gon was interesting because of his childish and sometime irrational behaviorj he' certainly seemed a psychiatrlc cese. He stared at us with 8 fixed grin on hiG face; his manna risms were qUite child ish i whenever I toolt Pictures he all-lays maneuvered himself around so that he would be included. (Fig.19) He later testified and his attitude changed from that of a chUd to that of a manl.ac. His face contortod, his eyes hateful,' ho shouted at the top of his lungs. He ~las the only individual present who might be considered dangerous, and was definitely unpredictable. He spolte on severel subjects the recent moon shot arid 'messing around J.n God I s world the fact that F.D. R.oosevelt initiated Daylight SavhlgG Time, and was buried in Hyde Park (again the moral is the ovJ.l of messing oroUlld in God t s ~Iorld ~ which may load to the end of the world). Toward the end of the meeting sever8l young boys gathored at the /.IUar and knelt; the mon gathered around and strolted them jerkingly on the a!'ms and shoulders while praying. This lasted fifteen minutes or so. It apPe8red to be some sort of 1.nl. t tat ion ce remony, or else to gJ.ve the boys a sense of bolong1.ng actual particip8tion in the service. Around 10;30 people began to leave; Luther \j@de came over (lnd talked with us for a few minutes" H';l told us he was glnd 'f,O hud como since he felt that l.t had beon a good meeting. He ~16- ': ,,' bod apparently been observlng our reactions (we had been , ,.", .p18Pping our hands to blen~ In with the congrega'Gion). and ',"'" ,,' b0 said that if wo kept coming to the meetIngs he felt sure I';e would get the "Holy Ghost". and might eventually handle Lhe snakos. We left shortly after. , " ',. '.)."J " , ' I II :! , , , 11.Handling of snakes, note faoia1 expressions. 12. Handling of snakes; the young man on the left, in the light bluo shi.rt, is the 'de1der mentioned in the text. 13. Handling of snakes. 14. Handling of snakefJ; the one-armed preacher from Aragon, center, ,maring glasser;. 15-16. Iloman posessed by Holy Ghost (see text) 17-18. Teen-<\ge boy posessed by' the Holy Ghost; note fadal expression. 19. Han ;Toadug glasses, faoing omnex'a appears to be mentally disturbed. (see text) Note faoial expression. 20. James Hade (eenter) oonsoling young man. 21. Note lit'ble boy ",ith oymbals. 22. General vio'd of interior of ohuroh. 23-24. IllurJtration of sexual segregation among par'~ioipants: men: lef.'G side of ohm'ch ;Tomen: right side of church ;~5. Note facial expresdon of cymbal player. Snake cults are not unique to the rural South, but are relatively common throughout the world. The snake itself is generally eccepted as a phallic sy\llbol. However, I do not feel qualified to discuss whether this specific symbolism is t.he basic moti vation for the snake handling of this specific group. From superficial observation I noticed some obvious patternn of behavior whi'c'h lIIay have sexual connotatl.ons, but ~Ihich would llot necessarily have to be explained in terms of Freudian symbolism, The folJ,o~IJ.ng Ustl.ng of behevioral patterns seem to have the sexual connotations I have just referred to: . 1. Women weer celf-length dre~ses, use no mpke-up, end retain long he,ir.(2) . 2. There is obvlous segregiJti<lY! of sexes In t;he s8ativg arrangement. (whenever circumstancos Dllo~J it, but even here there is no l'l.gid formality) and iii the role,> of the p8rticipan\;s in the service . 3. The greetings between th~) sexes are limited to handshakJ. ng, whereas both men <,nd women l{J.ss and embraoe members of their own sex. 4.' There are Sexual distinctions in the use of lJIusJ.cal instruments (cymbals and tambourines) 5. Males stroke other males and male children only, at times of extreme emotion, 6. The re J,s s tlggC S t i vo j01.'l<il1['; of t he bod y (es pN;iall y of tho pelvic reglon) 1n both wale and fCnJDle at times of extreme ernotJ.onal diSPlay 'I'o pl'OllElrly interpret these behavioral pattel'lls J.t would be neeessary to mal<e a thorough study of their "sub~oulturelt. In general the sn8ke cults 01'0 found either in poor I'uI'vl ('rens or else in 01111 towns. The p8r'tl.clpants appol3l" to be jI 'I, I I I, \ 1II! either poor "dirt" farmers or mlllworkers. Lon/! working hours, boring jobs with little opportunity of expression are the rule for the males. According to Desmond Morris "For the Bverage lower class male the nature of the worl< he is required to do is poorly suited to the denl8!ldsof the hunt ing drive. It is too repot it i ve, too pred1ctable. It lacks the elements of challengo I luol<, and risks so essential to the hunting male. For this reason, lower class males share With the (non-worl<ing) uPTo:r olass males a greater need to eXl?ress their 11lU1tlng urges than do the middle classes." (3) . ..' It seems reasonable to conclude that in the handling of snakes the urges for clements of challenge, lUCk, and rl.sk would easHy be satisfied. Furth.er, large families, or more commonly, closely spacod children, where the older child ls lleglocted as SOon 8S the now baby 1s born, are also the rule In this clsSs.(ttle largo number of children and infants brought to the meetings corroborates my stat'emont.). Any, type of rejection at a time ~Ihen a child most needs his mother has already been 1,J.llked to sexual problelns by mallY Psyctliatrists. IolhEtev0x' the psychologicel irnplJ.catiolls of the sXlel<e ~1811dlillg ect may be, it certainly servos fJ den.nJ.te purpose ~Iithln tile "sub-culture". It Elffords a meallS of emotiOY181 releese, selfexpl'essioll, shoring of 8 ritlwl with 8 congregption for the salw OfCOrllllllmicetJ.llg \'1ith the Supr0me Beil1,':?;. The snake provides each \'litb the 8S8m'once that the Lord cares, and the ftd.th of the indiVidual is rew::1l'ded whenevor God al101'1G him to svrvive the test. The snal<e is obviously the tanglble symbol of a mysterl.ous, unpred ieJtable'l. intangible Supreme g" ing. 1'nrough the miracle of being spaJ~ed by the snake tile GoCi. 's presence is '. constantly l'e-establlslv'Jc1. I t I .> 2. Leach, Edmund n., "Magical Hair" from l1iddleton, John (editor) _!1)f.J;h,.i1Jl,1..,_Q.QllillQi1, The Natural H1story Press. 1967 Nr. Leach tbor'ol1ghly discuss,\'l,s the sexual connotutions ofhair length and hail' grooming. '-. 3. Morris, Desmond. 1'he_.N.ted~~p..Zl..Dell Publishillg Co., Inc 1967, p.155 i II i \0 n )\
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Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions.
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