Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent is one of the upcoming Tropical Americas attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Joe Rohde explains the myth behind the Tsukan a.k.a. the Jade Serpent.

Jade Serpent Myth

Guests will encounter Tsukán throughout the attraction before a final confrontation with a larger-than-life Audio-Animatronic. The jade serpent is a giant ancient snake and comes from an ancient Mayan myth, as Joe Rohde explains on his Instagram:

Back at D23 a week ago, I’m sure visitors to the Imagineering booth would’ve noticed the big jade-colored, serpent-like creature who will be featured in the new attraction, Indiana Jones and the myth of the Jade Serpent.

But what exactly is the myth of the Jade Serpent? Well, much like the myth of the yeti at Expedition Everest, it is not something the team made up. Like all Disney’s Animal Kingdom teams, Joan Hartwig’s team has done their homework. This “Jade Serpent” called Tsukan, is a real living, contemporary Maya myth, in exactly the same way that the yeti is a living Himalayan oral tradition. And like the yeti, this creature is another kind of environmental protector, defending the sanctity, purity, and fertility of the cenote, and the water contained within.

In the Mayan language, the idea of serpents, and the idea of heavenly things is sort of conflated because when spoken out loud, the original word for snake and heavens sounds almost identical. Kaan. So you will often see stylized snakes represented in Maya art, where no snake is intended. Instead the snake is supposed to represent the sky or the heavens in some way. The last image included here of the woman encircled by a snake is more or less symbolically the moon in the sky. As a matter of fact, if you look straight at the head of Tsukan you can see one of these heavenly serpents across its brow.

So, while there is, of course, the superficially humorous juxtaposition of Indiana Jones versus a giant snake, there is, as with everything at Animal Kingdom, much more to be learned, and a richer, more culturally, and environmentally relevant story to be told. so when the attraction finally opens, do not rush to be first in line, walk very slowly… looking closely at every detail.

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