Snake Talk: How the world’s ancient serpent stories can guide us

by Tyson Yunkaporta, Megan Kelleher

The Serpent in Aboriginal stories is both creator and destroyer, dwelling between physical and spiritual worlds, between story and history, weaving across earth and sky. The Great Dividing Range is the body of the Serpent, but he does not separate us – he brings us together.

What if this ancient Lore can be found everywhere? What if the stories of the Basilisk, Wyvern, Naga, Quetzalcoatl and many other mythic Serpents also contain the knowledge we need in this moment of crisis?

In Snake Talk, Tyson Yunkaporta and Megan Kelleher follow these stories around the world from Kathmandu to Aotearoa, from Mesoamerica to China to northern Europe. They ask how we can align our human gifts with the patterns of creation, seeking answers from makers who pay homage to the Serpent in images and objects.

This exhilarating new book – like Sand Talk and Right Story, Wrong Story – shines an Indigenous light on contemporary society. Snake Talk invites us to see the world through the eye of the Serpent.

Tyson Yunkaporta is an Aboriginal scholar, founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne, and author of Sand Talk and Right Story, Wrong Story. His work focuses on applying Indigenous methods of inquiry to resolve complex issues and explore global crises.

Megan Kelleher belongs to the Barada and Kapalbara peoples of Central Queensland and the branch of the Kelleher clan living in regional Victoria. She is currently undertaking her PhD at RMIT University in the School of Media and Communication and was honoured to be awarded one of RMIT's Vice Chancellor’s Indigenous Pre‑Doctoral Fellowships in 2018.
Megan is investigating whether the affordances of blockchain technology are culturally appropriate for Indigenous governance, and is undertaking this research as a core member of the Digital Ethnography Research Centre (DERC) and as a PhD Candidate within The ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S).
When she is not training to be an academic, Megan is a devoted mother of her three beautiful children, Eden, Diver and Onyx.

‘I love this book. Every page is an illumination.’ Bronwyn Bancroft

‘An extraordinary invitation into the world of the Dreaming…Unheralded.’ Melissa Lucashenko on Sand Talk

‘Bristles with revelation…vigorous brilliance…both sensible and subversive.’ Age on Right Story, Wrong Story

Genres: Nonfiction

195 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 2, 2025

About the author

Tyson Yunkaporta is an academic, an arts critic, and a researcher who is a member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland. He carves traditional tools and weapons and also works as a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University in Melbourne. He lives in Melbourne.

Reviews

[Aryani Siti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snake Talk is not just a book about myths—it is a journey through cultures and time. Tyson Yunkaporta and Megan Kelleher follow serpent stories from around the world, showing the serpent as a guide between the past and the present, the seen and the unseen.

For me, the book felt very close to home. It mentions Naga, Garuda, and places in Indonesia. As someone from Indonesia, reading those parts touched me deeply. I grew up hearing these names in stories and seeing them in temples, but I never thought about how they connect to other serpent stories, like Quetzalcoatl in Mexico or dragons in China. This book helped me realise these are not just legends—they are lessons and connections that link people everywhere.

With deep respect for Indigenous knowledge, the authors show how old stories can guide us in today’s world. Snake Talk made me appreciate the stories I grew up with and reminded me how powerful stories can be in bringing us together.

[Eliza Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the best book I've read in a very long time. I picked it up from the library out of vague curiosity while Arkie was searching for rainbow magic books and it unfolded into exactly the book I needed to read to make conference on hope.

everyone who tells stories needs to read this book and everyone who craves ritual and connection needs to read this book.

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was expecting a bit of a review of similarities / differences in snake stories / beliefs from around the world. But more a ramble through the authors’ interactions with traditional custodians of those entities. So learned less of other nations than I was hoping for. But Tyson always provides good insights into Australian Indigenous law / lore to the extent this is allowed.

[Fran Cormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Tyson

[Jim Rimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a whole lot I can say about this other than go out and get yourself a copy.

[⋆ Elodie ⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read!!!

[Isabella Wordsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowowo a beautiful weaving of cultures and stories to create a compelling narrative and urgent story of how our world is doing today

[Cassandra Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was beautiful and unique with so many cultural insights and guidance into integrating the lessons of the snake.

[David Juno · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read in this time and age

[Text Publishing]

The following reviews have been shared by Text Publishing, the publisher of Snake Talk.

‘...the perspective is capacious yet intimate in tone’
Age

‘I love this book. Every page is an illumination.’
Bronwyn Bancroft

‘Rich and layered...At a time when our world feels fragile, we sorely need the kind of fresh thinking found in this expansive and visionary book.’
Readings Monthly

‘This exhilarating new book – like Sand Talk and Right Story, Wrong Story – shines an Indigenous light on contemporary society. Snake Talk invites us to see the world through the eye of the Serpent.’
Australian Arts Review