Despite the differences of environment and modes of life, the herders of Northern Asia and tropical agriculturalists of maritime Southeast Asia, as well as hunter-gatherer of both areas, share the key concepts that form human-snake interaction. Local practices and beliefs connected with snakes in the named areas are largely underestimated, overshadowed by “big mythologies “of India and China, to which they are usually ascribed. Surely there are common traits, not necessarily influences, but rather universals, to be found far beyond Asia: snakes are symbols of immortality and fertility; mythological snakes are associated with water and underworld, they cause earthquakes and eclipses, swallowing the moon and the sun; epic heroes fight male and female snakes, but also treat them as allies and companions in combat, fall in love and even marry them, or turn into snakes themselves. The Philippine mythological snake is predominantly a python, an ‘Austronesian prototypical snake’, as R. Blust (2002) described it on the basis of historical linguistics. Sawa, the python, was initially regarded as prey, predator, and competitor in hunting (Headland, Greeneb 2011). The paper gives a brief overview of the indigenous Philippine beliefs connected with snakes, their use as food, for medicinal purposes, for protection in everyday life, and focuses on the concepts and beliefs depicting snakes as ancestors, mediators, helpers of a shaman in his interaction with the non-human world. Early records show that in pre-colonial Philippines snakes were kept in the households and in the boats during sea voyages as helpers and protectors, based in the concept of snakes as embodiment of deceased ancestors, that endow their living relatives with magic spells and ensure their welfare. The narratives about kambal-ahas, snake-twin, are still to be found in the rural communities. The author’s field materials collected in Southeast Asia (1994-2023) are used.