Who is Najini?

[frost_indri]

No: HPFGUIDX 88598

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Anne" 
<silverthorne.dragon at v...> wrote:
> [Vmonte asks]
> 
> > Just wondering if Najini,Voldemort's snake,is male or female? 
> > (It sounds female but I'm not certain.) 
> > Also wondered if this creature was someone's animagus and if so 
> whose?
> 
> 
> [Anne]
> 
<<snip>>

> I'm not sure if it's male or female, although I beleive I remember 
> that in myths from India, the 'Nagini' are the female half of the 
> Naga species--a mystic race that has the upper part of a body and 
the 
> lower part of a snake. Going by that description, the guess would 
be 
> female...
> 
<<snip>>

So why couldn't Najini be an acutal Naga?  Rowling has adapted the 
myths to fit her own vision before (i.e. The Basalisk, also known as 
a cockatrice, which traditionally has the head of a rooster, 
sometimes a lizard's body, sometimes wings, and, when in snake form, 
is supposed to trave by roling ints body in loops.  wierd monster).  
Maybe she has it the other way around- a snake that can transform to 
a human upper body, or, if sticking closer to the original 
tradition, the human head.  It would make more sense for him to be 
using a magical snake for his potions (he regularly milks Najini (or 
has Wormtail do it).  Of course, then again, most snake owners milk 
their venimouse snakes so that the bites don't actually harm them.  
But Najini seems to be a bit more intellegent, and have much more of 
a understanding with Voldemort.  

Frost