Herps in Society and Culture: Snake Charming

Snake charming has been a way of life for many and a prominent feature of the culture in India, and is also found in nearby Asian countries as well as a few in North Africa.  The Hindu religion holds that snakes are sacred, and many depictions of the gods have them under protection of cobras.  In India the king cobra and other cobra species are frequently used for charming, and various vipers and pythons are less frequently used. Popular snakes used vary by country based on what is available. 

The snake charming scene that typically comes to mind is one of the charmer playing a flute made from a gourd while sitting in front of a container housing the snakes, usually a pot or basket.  When a cobra is uncovered its response to the alarm is to rise up and extend its hood, its natural defense position.  Lacking ears, the snake is unable to hear the music played by the charmer, but may respond to its vibrations.  The swaying it exhibits are a response to its visual perception of the movements made by the charmer and instrument, and though cobras are colorblind their vision is better than most snakes.  Snakes may also be handled, placed in the mouth, etc. during charming performances. 

Cobras have a striking range of about one third its body length, so often charmers will sit just out of this range.  Cobras strike downward, such that charmers are safe when they engage in the common gimmick of kissing the snake on the head.  Behaviorally, cobras are not very aggressive and usually exhibit defensive tactics, relying on their indimidating posture to deter threats.  Charmers often train their snakes to enhance this passiveness, and may habituate them to the painful futility of biting the hard object presented in front of them.  It is widely reported that some charmers will remove or break off a cobra's fangs, or even sew its mouth shut to nullify the risk of being bitten.  The latter case prevents the snake from eating, and there are reports that some charmers don't feed their snakes at all, or feed them herb concoctions to make them lethargic.  These practices add up to a high mortality rate and animal rights groups suspect that charmers go through many snakes a year.

The practice of snake charming is declining significantly in India, mainly because it is illegal.  Interestingly, keeping snakes in India has been illegal since 1972, though it was hardly enforced and punishment was warded off by bribes.  This has changed as the Indian government has sent snake charmers to jail for multi-year terms for violating its Wildlife Act, under increasing pressure from wildlife activists.  In 2003 a program was created to grant amnesty to charmers that currently owned or were to inherit snakes, allowing them to have identifying microchips inserted in each snake.  This was devised to limit the taking of new snakes for the trade, and identify those charmers illegally taking snakes.  Compliance with this program was low, unsurprising given the deeply rooted traditions involved in the practice.

Snake charming is also declining due to the development of these regions, leading to decreased popularity of street performers.  Another reason charmers cite for their reduced popularity is the access the children have to nature shows, which may have lessened their awe of snakes or exposed some of the myths of snake charming.  As snake charming is discouraged in India, the government is working to convert these charmers into snake rescuers that benefit people and snakes alike by capturing and transporting dangerous snakes from urban and suburban areas back to the wild.   



For more:
http://www.lifeinthefastlane.ca/legendary-and-mysterious-art-of-snake-charming-revealed/weird-science
http://library.thinkquest.org/C007974/2_6sch.htm
http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/snake-charming-a-profession-of-little-charm-1.998823
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139086119/in-india-snake-charmers-are-losing-their-sway