According to the earliest dynastic myths, the nagas belonged to the oldest lunar dynasty of Indian kings, consisting of the indigenous inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent. A long time ago, a nagini princess from this dynasty married a prince from the solar dynasty of Indian kings, giving rise to the development of all the following civilizations (their descendants are the Yadavas, to whom Krishna belonged).
According to another legend, the nagas were the inhabitants of Nagadwipa before the arrival of the Aryans (first half of the 2nd millennium BC). According to this legend, when the Brahmins invaded India, they "discovered a tribe of wise people, demigods, half-demons," who were teachers of other tribes and then became mentors of the Hindus and the Brahmins themselves. Nagadvipa ("land of the nagas") is considered in the Vishnu Puranas as one of the nine regions of Bharatavarsha, or India; a large number of Indian toponyms (areas, mountains, lakes) are associated with the root "naga".
Some modern researchers believe that the Nagas are tribes of the Mongoloid race, which had a snake (cobra) as their totem, and that the mythological interpretation had a historical basis.
The Nagi tribes in India
In upper India, in the mountains of Assam, south of the river. The Brahmaputra is inhabited by a group of tribes called the Nagas. The number of the Naga tribes reaches 40-50; their total number in the late 1970s. was 300 thousand people. The nagas lead an independent lifestyle and belong to the Assamese group of the Tibeto-Burmese family of peoples and languages. Their religion is pagan. Governance is democratic. Nagas eat the meat of various animals, but do not eat milk. Houses of their gabled shape, have one or two rooms; pigs, chickens, women and children are placed together. Before marriage, all single men in the village are housed in a special large building, under the supervision of an overseer. Girls live in similar conditions before marriage. Relations between them during the day are not constrained by anything: they can freely choose each other and marry, with the consent of their parents. Murder and adultery are punishable by death.
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Indian festival of snakes
The festival of snakes is celebrated annually in India and Nepal. It takes place on the fifth day of the first, bright, half of the lunar month Shravan, corresponding to our July, August or September. The serpent cult is especially developed in the south of India, in the Canary region, and the city of Battisa-Sharalen is the center of its annual departure. On the day of the holiday, early in the morning, each family brings a clay image of a snake or draws five, seven, nine snakes using sandalwood sawdust. If there is a temple in the village dedicated to the god Naga, then everyone goes there. In addition, a certain number of snakes, called nagakuli, are caught by the naga-pancami (panca = five). They are kept in clay pots or bamboo baskets, and fed with milk and other food. They are given the same honors as serpent idols. On the day after the festival, the snakes are taken to the jungle and released. According to Hindu legends, the number of serpent-gods reaches a thousand.
Other modern scholars attribute the Nagas to the historical tribes of Scythian origin that invaded India.
The last two points of view seem to scientifically explain the origin of the nagas. However, as in the case of the fomorians, it remains incomprehensible to me why the real people (albeit mythologized) needed to "attach" snake tails, "insert" poisonous teeth, endow them with a deadly look and assign them the title of the highest adepts of magic, witchcraft and sorcery? Why can't they just be classified as fictional creatures like dragons, fairies and elves?
Author: A. V. Koltypin