Awanyu is depicted as a horned (or plumed) serpent with a sinuous body suggestive of the flow of water or the zigzag of lightning.

Frequently, the Tewa emplaced Awanyu icons on cave walls situated high above canyon rivers in New Mexico and Arizona.

Awanyu is a protector of the Pueblo people, the guardian of waterways and a harbinger of storms, and represented as a plumed (or horned) serpent.

[2] Archaeologist Dr. Polly Schaafsma, whose research specializes in Avanyu mythology among other subjects, writes, “The horned serpent continues to be revered as an important deity among the Pueblos and is known by various names among the different linguistic groups, including Kolowisi (Zuni), Paaloloqangw (Hopi), and Awanyu (Tewa)."

Schaafsma notes that the water serpent's home is located in "springs, ponds, rivers, and ultimately the oceans, all believed to be connected under the earth’s surface, and … may cause torrential rains and floods.”[2]