(‘nyoka shetani’ direct Swahili translation: ‘the devil snake’)

Shetani are spirits of East African mythology, and still widely believed in today. Usually malevolent, Shetani are found in many different forms and variations with different powers, often appearing as distorted human and animal figures.)

Once engulfed, it feels like returning to the womb, the serpents gentle sway as she moves through the grass, rocked in a cradle, nestled and safe. Close your eyes, let the numbness overcome you. Time becomes elusive. Have years passed? You feel altered, transformed. What has shaped you? Numb, everything’s numb. Everything feels distant, muted, as if wrapped in fog. Despite the warmth of this faux womb, a chill of isolation pervades. Nothing feels safe in this place. The longer you linger, the more you dissolve. Escape seems daunting. But perhaps, staying a bit longer… it could be safe…