When I was young I heard stories of a snake that once used to live in our house. It was called Bastu Saap in Bengali, literally meaning house snake. It did not harm anyone and was supposed to be lucky.
Even in the recent past, many houses in Bengal (and many parts of rural India) had this concept of Bastu saap, often found in pairs. Some even offered them milk. So when I came to know that such customs were common as far away as Europe, I was intrigued. It reveals a fascinating and ancient connection between cultures across the vast expanse of the Indo-European language family, from the Baltic shores to Bengal.
Despite our modern understanding that snakes can’t truly benefit from milk, this tradition echoes through time, hinting at shared beliefs and practices stretching back millennia. These are echoes of an ancient connection, something the genetic studies are finally unravelling.
In Lithuania, the last corner of Europe to embrace Christianity, the grass snake, or Žaltys, was no ordinary creature. Revered as a sacred household spirit, it was believed to bring luck and protection. Young couples would even welcome these gentle reptiles into their homes, offering them milk as a sign of respect and kinship. Ancient Baltic priestesses are even said to have incorporated milk offerings to snakes into fertility rituals. Across pre-Christian Indo-European societies, snakes, particularly harmless grass snakes, were often seen as chthonic deities, guardians of the earth and home.
A very similar custom existed until recently in Sweden. Our Scandinavian cousins would also leave out bowls of milk for grass snakes, known as snok, not unlike the customs in my homeland.
The Hindu myth of Mansā Devi, the powerful goddess of snakes, tells of the heroine Behula appeasing venomous serpents with bowls of milk. Even today, during the vibrant festival of Naga Panchami, snakes are worshipped, sometimes bathed and even fed milk, underscoring their sacred status.
Interestingly, ancient texts mention the Godha, often referring to reptiles like monitor lizards and iguanas, sometimes even associated with the negative consequence of being reborn as such for those who steal cows . Godha literally means cow (Gow) suckler (Duha). The Proto-Indo-European root for “suckler” is thought to be *dʰewgʰ- (“to produce”), potentially meaning “the one that draws milk. Interestingly, the Lithuanian folklore whispers tales of grass snakes or other reptiles directly drinking milk from cows’ udders. Cow suckler indeed.
The advent of Christianity in Europe brought a shift in perspective, often demonizing the snake and twisting old tales. In Bible snake is associated with Satan and thus considered bad.
In Spain, this resulted in the belief that snakes steal milk from cows and even from breasts of sleeping mothers, thus harming their children – a stark contrast to the earlier reverence. The suppression of these beliefs even led to tragic events like the burning of house snakes during the Crusades, perhaps solidifying the snake as a symbol of anti-Christian pagan resistance.
While modern science reveals that snakes cannot digest milk and may only drink it out of desperation when thirsty, the enduring myth speaks volumes about the deep-rooted connection between these cultures and the natural world. Lithuanians and Indians share a common ancestry.
Having descended from the same Proto-Indo-European roots, Lithuanian and Sanskrit exhibit remarkable parallels. Their shared linguistic heritage is evident in their highly conservative nature, the preservation of intricate case systems, and striking lexical correspondences. Consider, for instance, the similarity in words for fundamental ideas: Lithuanian “Dievas” and Sanskrit “Devas” both signify “god,” while “medus” and “madhu” refer to “honey.” Further examples include “ašva” and “ashva” for “horse,” “ugnis” and “agnis” for “fire,” and “labhas” and “labh” for “dream.”
Some researchers believe its the Yamana tribe that connects Baltic to Bengal. These are the “Aryan” speaking steppe population who migrated to India, carrying the legends with them. They mixed with the natives and created the Ancestral North India (ANI) genetic group.
References
https://survivethejive.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-milk-drinking-serpent.html
Proto: How one ancient language went global. Spinney L. 2025.
The comparative milk-suckling reptile. Ermacora D. 2017.
