Chingola Road(side) Kill

You never know what you’ll find while traversing the roads of Zambia. A couple Sundays ago, while heading back from the copper mining town of Chingola (where I had preached twice, beginning at 7:00 a.m.!), my colleague Richard and I spotted a small throng of exuberant males clustered on the side of the road. An air of victory surrounded them—the victory of capturing a six- or eight-foot-long snake. This city slicker had never seen such a large snake outside of a zoo or mobile reptile exhibit. It looked alive. “Do you think it’s poisonous,” I asked Richard. Without hesitating he said, “Shuah” (his Zambian English version of “Sure!”) Richard inquired as to whether I had my camera on me, and if I wanted to stop for a photo op. “Yes!” I replied, on both counts, as I yanked the camera from my pocket.

A man who looked to be in his fifties seemed to be in charge of the critter. I asked him what kind of snake it was. “A viper,” he said. “How did you kill it?” I asked, realizing by now that it was dead (and somewhat stinky!). A few in the group spoke excitedly and gestured to convey that they had beat it to death, with sticks. Some of the snake’s innards were spewing forth from its belly, hence the odor, I suppose. They wanted to sell it to me. I declined, opting for the pic. The elder statesman strung the dead serpent around his neck like—well—like a boa!