DEDUCTIONS ABOUT THE DAHONG-PALAY
But, as with all legends, this one has failed to stand up to modernday understanding of nature, snakes included, because except for the tiger keelback (Rhabdophis tigrinus), none are known to possess poison through their skin. The tiger keelback is not found in the Philippines, thus the snake cannot be the dreaded dahongpalay of legend. Furthermore, merely touching these snakes is harmless, unless one touches the nape region (where it stores toad toxins sequestered from their warty anuran prey) and licks their fingers afterward.
In the Philippines, four snakes are predominantly green enough to stand as the mythical dahongpalay candidates: two species of vipers (Trimeresurus flavomaculatus and Tropidolaemus subannulatus), the green ratsnake (Gonyosoma oxycephala), and the vine snake (Ahaetulla prasina). The first two are venomous, the third is nonvenomous, and the last is very mildly venomous. However, since the legend made no mention of the dahong-palay’s toxic bite, we can rule out the vipers, leaving the two as possible contenders.
And if we go beyond the considerations of color and take into account the imagery invoked by the term ‘dahong-palay’, then we will have arrived at the only plausible entrant: the vine snake. This snake is extremely slender and thin as a grass leaf with a pointed snout that evokes a rice leaf ’s tip. And, of course, the vine snake is green.
Still, other snakes have also been confused as the dahong-palay, and these include other slender snakes, mainly involving the non-venomous bronzebacks (Dendrelaphis) and the flying snakes (Chrysopelea) whose venom is ridiculously weak to be practically non-existent. Bronzebacks are known in Tagalog as “talbos-tubo”; I do not know what the Filipino term for flying snakes is, but knowing how common names work in mysterious ways, it may as well be “talbos-tubo” too and yes, even “dahong-palay”.
Indeed, any other slender snake is qualified to be granted any of these two names and this illustrates why the use of common names are often of very little assistance in identifying snake species. Scientific names, ladies and gents, allow us to speak the same language.