A woman stunned villagers in south India after she saved a trapped snake and put on a bizarre act of singing and dancing with it.

The woman, Shivamma, of Hirebaganala village near Koppala, Karnataka, was passing by on January 6 when she saw a few men trying to kill a snake that had entered the courtyard of a local temple.

She intervened and caught the snake, saving its life. However instead of releasing it in the wild, she wrapped it around her neck and went inside the temple.

People then watched in amazement as she sang, danced and worshipped the local deity, believed to be a manifestation of Hindu God Shiva.

She then went around the village visiting several sacred spots till her husband came and took her home. The snake was released in the wild.

Many villagers believed that the woman had had a spiritual experience when she danced with the snake.

“She is not a snake catcher, just a normal woman. The snake did not resist her, obeyed all her commands. There was a divine touch to it," said Mallikarjun, a resident of a nearby village who went to Hirebaganala to see the ‘miracle.’

Noted snake expert Subhendu Mallik said: “It was a harmless rat snake protected under Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Torturing it is a crime under the act.”

A woman stunned villagers in south India after she saved a trapped snake and put on a bizarre act of singing and dancing with it.

The woman, Shivamma, of Hirebaganala village near Koppala, Karnataka, was passing by on January 6 when she saw a few men trying to kill a snake that had entered the courtyard of a local temple.

She intervened and caught the snake, saving its life. However instead of releasing it in the wild, she wrapped it around her neck and went inside the temple.

People then watched in amazement as she sang, danced and worshipped the local deity, believed to be a manifestation of Hindu God Shiva.

She then went around the village visiting several sacred spots till her husband came and took her home. The snake was released in the wild.

Many villagers believed that the woman was taken over by a holy spirit.

“She is not a snake catcher, just a normal woman. The snake did not resist her, obeyed all her commands. There was a divine touch to it, said Mallikarjun, a resident of a nearby village who went to Hirebaganala to see the ‘miracle.’

Noted snake expert Subhendu Mallik said: “It was a harmless rat snake protected under Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Torturing it is a crime under the act.”