Snake Charmer

While it may a dying profession, the mysterious ancient tradition of snake charming can still be found in remote corners of the earth, as charmers enchant savage and perilous snakes with the sweet, seductive melodies of their Makuti flutes into a hypnotic state at Vishnupur, Bankura in West Bengal. ........

Thousands of people come from far and wide to worship the goddess Manasha, daughter of lord Shiva — known as the goddess of snakes — every year for the Jhapan festival in Bishanupur, about 124 miles (200 kilometers) west of Kolkata.

A snake charmer handles a poisonous snake during Jhapan festival in Bishanupur.

According to Hindu mythology, people celebrate in worship of the goddess so that the fertility of the land increases with expectations of a good harvest, and stage shows with snakes and snake charmers abound.

A woman carries an idol of the Hindu snake goddess Manasha during the

Jhapan festival in Bishanupur

An Indian snake charmer holds a poisonous snake in his mouth during the Jhapan festival.

Snake charmers walk the streets carrying their serpents in baskets or pots covered with cloths hanging from a bamboo pole slung over the shoulder. The charmer sets up to perform cross-legged on the ground as his team of assistants or apprentices typically set his pots and baskets about him.

The lid is removed as the charmer begins playing a flute-like instrument made from a gourd — known as a been, pungi, or Makuti. The serpent slowly emerges swaying to and fro in time with the musician’s tune, apparently lulled and hypnotized by the skill of the performer’s magical melody.

The snake never strikes, and the charmer may even kiss the creature on the head. The charmer may handle his animals, daring his audience to touch them, but almost no one does. As if on cue, the snake slowly returns to its container, and the charmer replaces the lid.

A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerous acts, as well as other street performances such as juggling and sleight of hand.

Amazed onlookers throw coins to the successful practitioner, he gathers up his earnings, and moves on to perform somewhere else.

Sometimes charmers stage mock combats between their snakes and other animals, such as mongooses. North African snake charmers frequently set up loudspeakers which they advertise a wide array of charms, medicines, and healthcare pamphlets from, sometimes demanding exorbitant fees from hapless tourists who snap photos of them.

A woman snake charmer handles a poisonous snake during the Jhapan festival.

An Indian snake charmer kisses a poisonous snake during the “Jhapan” festival

Snake Charming Mystery Revealed

The real truth of the matter is that standing ere'ct and extending the hood is a normal defensive reaction for a cobra and simply indicates the reptile’s startled reaction to losing its darkened environment. Charmers may even wave their instrument over the opening in a manner to prompt the serpent to emerge while not arousing his audience’s attention to the action.

As for the snake’s swaying movement, it’s actually a reaction to the movement of the performer’s instrument and sometimes the tapping of his foot. The snake cannot actually hear the tune being played, though it may feel some of the sound vibrations and any tapping by the charmer.

Most snakes are actually timid in nature and prefer to scare off possible predators rather than fight them, which explains the creature’s reluctance to attack.

Snake charmers typically reduce the chances of being bitten by sitting just out of striking range, about one-third of a cobra’s body length. What may appear as a dangerous feat to kiss the creature on its head is in fact nearly harmless, as cobras are incapable of attacking anything above them.

Snake charmers learn to read their animals and can usually tell when they’re ready to strike, typically trained in rudimentary methods of treating snakebite should it ever occur.

Some claim that snake charmers drug the snakes, but this is very rare.

The creature’s container also plays a large part in subduing the animal, as it keeps the snake’s blood temperature down and makes it groggy.

The snake returns to its container simply by the snake charmer stopping his waving motion.

Snake charmers frequently supplement their performances with juggling, sleight of hand, and other tricks, such as “turning a rod into a serpent” — a ruse that goes back to Biblical times — said to be accomplished by putting pressure on a specific nerve behind the snake’s head which causes it to stiffen up.

An Indian snake charmer bites a snake during the “Jhapan” Hindu festival.

Snake charmer in Jaipur (India) in 2007.

 Snake charmer in New Delhi (India) in 2006

Practice of Snake Charmers

Snake charmers traditionally acquire their serpents by going out into the wilderness and capturing them, which is none too difficult, as most South Asian and North African snakes tend to be slow movers. But today, more and more charmers buy their animals from snake dealers.

The species of serpents used varies by region — the cobra is preferred In India, though some charmers also use Russell’s vipers. Indian and Burmese pythons and Mangrove Snakes are sometimes used, but are not as popular. The Egyptian cobra, puff adder, carpet viper and horned desert viper commonly feature in performances in North Africa. With the exception of pythons, all are highly venomous.

Charmers usually keep their snakes in containers such as baskets, boxes, pots, or sacks, and must train them before bringing them out into public. If they don’t de-fang the reptiles, this may include introducing the snake to a hard object similar to the punji — the snake eventually learns that striking the object only causes pain.

These Guys Catch Pythons With Their Bare Hands [Amazing]

What at first might seem like a remarkably bad idea is actually a well-planned assault. In southern Africa, traditional python hunters display their technique for capturing and killing the enormous reptiles. African rock pythons (python sabae) are among some of the largest snakes in the world, reaching over 6 m in length. While their relatives the Burmese pythons are known for their docility, African pythons are much more vicious, as this hunter finds out first-hand

But although the snakes are armed with razor-sharp teeth and muscular coils that can squeeze the breath out of a full-grown antelope, they are no match for the most dangerous weapon in the natural world: human ingenuity.

The technique is simple, and yet terrifying. The hunter ties a piece of hide onto his forearm and armed only with a small torch to light up the dark he dives headfirst into the python lair. He encounters a large snake guarding a clutch of eggs. At this point, a sensible person would get out as quickly as possible but this hunter has other plans.

He waves his shielded forearm about to distract the snake from biting his face. The python lunges, grabs his hand and begins to swallow. With his free hand, the hunter then chokes the snake and his partner pulls him back out of the hole, which seems like his favorite part, and I don't blame him.

Though not endangered, restrictions have been placed on python exportation around the world as their skin is used frequently in the leather industry. Despite their aggressive behavior, attacks on humans are rare (but they still make lousy pets compared to Burmese pythons). Smaller, younger pythons eat mainly rodents and are tolerated in farming communities because they help reduce the pest population. However, as they get older and larger, they begin attacking livestock and sometimes children. This is when the snakes become unwanted, and provides the major source of conflict with humans.

They are found all over central and southern Africa, mostly in grassland and savannah habitats. Where these particular snake hunters are from is unclear but they seem to have quite a bit of experience dealing with large snakes. If I had to wrestle enormous pythons like these often enough to become good at it, I would probably just move away. Far away.