National Folk Museum marks year of snake in exhibition

A Maha Kola mask from Sri Lanka. (National Folk Museum of Korea)

The National Folk Museum of Korea will open a special exhibition on Wednesday celebrating the Year of the Snake, one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals.

The exhibition “The Snake with a Thousand Faces,” running through March 3, will showcase some 60 items related to the animal from Africa to North America, exploring the conflicting human nature that views snakes as both scary and sacred, according to the state-run museum.

“The Wise Snake” is one of the three zones set up, looking at objects like photos, stamps and crafts that depict the animal as imparting wisdom.

“The Frightening Snake” is the next section where historical evidence points to people avoiding the animal out of fear, with Koreans going as far as wearing “norigae” -- decorative pendants -- with a scent believed to keep the animal away.

The Buddhist painting “The Ten Kings Who Rule the Underworld” is a more powerful rendition of a world of suffering in which the snake carries out afterlife punishment at the king’s direction.

“The Sacred Snake” closes the show. A peach-shaped gourd dipper with a snake-engraved ring, symbolizing vitality and life, represents the sacred power of the snake to fend off “something bad and wicked,” according to the museum.

“Humans are afraid of snakes, yet see them as sacred too,” a museum official said. “The fact that the snake outgrows its skin and sheds it renders the animal capable of crossing over different worlds and bringing peace and prosperity to humans.”

Foreign objects are on display as well.

The “Aztec Calendar Stone” is a disk covered in intricate designs with carved symbols including the snake -- an animal thought to have powers over heaven and earth.

A Maha Kola mask from Sri Lanka is a ritual item used to purge bad spirits. Maha Kola is the boss of the 18 demons of illness represented in the Sanni Dance or “Devil Dance.”

A special lecture will take place Wednesday at the museum in Seoul to understand the artifacts and their historical perceptions.