When Death Entered The World

When Death Entered the World

In parts of the Solomon Islands, women are believed to have brought both life and death into the world. Koevasi, a mythic female snake gave birth to the first human, a woman. This woman sometimes identified as the snake herself, growing old, then went to the river to change her skin and regain her youth. On returning to the village, her granddaughter did not recognize her and was so afraid of the "new person" that the old woman returned to the river and, finding her old skin, put it back on - thus bringing death into the world.

Medium: Watercolor Fine Art Paper II, 24in. x 36in.