The snake is an important and widespread African symbol of water and rainbow deities. The serpent is linked to Mami Wata with the rainbow deity complex among the Mina, Ewe, Aja, Fon, Yoruba, and Igbo in West Africa.
The rainbow python is frequently depicted in paintings with Mami Water. Crocodiles, fish, and snakes are also prominently featured in wall paintings (Book 3).
Cloth snakes, stuffed and painted in detail, resemble the originally used, live python. These reptiles are wrapped around the waist during consultation, held overhead while dancing in ceremonies, or resting above Mamy Wata images inside the shrine. The python–inhibits both land and water, is silent and gentle, but can also be potentially dangerous. Pythons are considered a messenger capable of merging from the underworld, mingling with the middle world, and reaching toward the upper world. The python is a snake surrounded with mystique.
Mamy Wata in her python guise is known to enter the bed and make infertile women fertile and impotent men potent–all of this is done "in a good way without feeling any trouble." However, this same snake is also responsible for bringing venereal disease and infertility. The python, a giver of life and taker of life remains a symbol of power, potency, wildness, gentleness; evilness and goodness (Book 2).
One snake is usually draped over her shoulder, or two snakes held in her hands. Most frequently one is held overhead in the hands and one wraps itself around her the lower torso. Often the lower snakes rises directly from the genitals, or nearby (Book 2).