Snake charming: the beautiful yet dangerous centuries-old practice -

Snake charming today is a rare sideshow, at least in India where it's effectively banned. But what's the fascination behind this practice?

© Getty Images

Playing to the crowds -

Snake charming is the centuries-old practice of playing an instrument and feigning that the snake has been hypnotized.

© Shutterstock

Snake charming origins -

Ancient Egypt served as home to one form of snake charming. Charmers there mainly acted as magicians and healers.

© Getty Images

Snake charmers in biblical times -

Snake charmers are mentioned in the Bible, in Psalm 58:3–5: "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely."

© Getty Images

The association with India and Hinduism -

Snake charming as it exists today likely originated in India, where it has a long history. Under Hindu belief, the serpent is considered sacred.

© Getty Images

The Nagas and the cobra -

In fact, serpents are believed to be related to the Nagas, a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala). Many gods are pictured under the protection of the cobra.

© Getty Images

Holy men -

In India, snake charmers were considered holy men due to their ability to control the snake. These individuals were also likely traditional healers by trade.

© Getty Images

Treating snake bites -

These healing skills came in handy because as part of their training, the holy men also learned to treat snake bites.

© Getty Images

Lucrative sideline -

Skilled snake charmers knew how to handle snakes. So much so, in fact, that as a lucrative sideline, they were often called on to remove errant serpents from people's homes.

© Getty Images

That's entertainment! -

Over the centuries, snake charming evolved into more of an entertainment than religion.

© Getty Images

Big business -

Indeed, snake charming eventually became big business. Savvy charmers often incorporated dancing, music, and magic shows into their acts.

© Getty Images

Blowing on the pungi -

The musical instrument of choice for most snake charmers was—and remains—the pungi. Originating from the Indian subcontinent, it's played by blowing air into a reservoir, which is then channeled into two reed pipes.

© Getty Images

Playing the bansuri -

The bansuri is another musical instrument used to coax serpents from their slumber. This ancient flute is also from India, and Nepal.

© Getty Images

Snakes can't hear -

While the pungi is instrumental in appearing to coax a serpent out of its basket, the truth is that snakes actually lack the ability to hear and thus do not recognize the music. Instead, they respond to the vibrations and movements of the flute and charmer.

© Getty Images

Golden age of snake charming -

The late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century proved something of a golden age for snake charmers in many countries.

© Getty Images

Street theater -

In this 1890 photograph, snake charmers attract a sizeable crowd on the streets of Rangoon, today known as Yangon, the capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma).

© Getty Images

Snake charming tourism -

By the early 20th century, governments were eagerly promoting snake charming to draw tourism, a fact not lost on advertisers. In this 1907 illustration, a French manufactured Berliet automobile is parked in a bazaar. A group of people surround the car to look at it while a snake charmer appears to be playing to it. In the foreground is his snake, temporarily abandoned in favor of the vehicle.

© Getty Images

Picture this! -

Here, a woman in a sari is carrying a camera and watching a snake charmer at work. In the 1930s, photography had reached the traveling public, and the holiday snap culture was born.

© Getty Images

Religious cult -

Meanwhile in the United States, there was a resurgence of snake charming in the 1930s as a form of religion. The practice began in rural Appalachia. In Kentucky, the Reverend Oscar Hutton (pictured), leader of one particular snake cultist group, would often handle several venomous snakes, including copperheads, while preaching. The practice of using snakes during church services was illegal, but the cultists worshipped secretly.

© Getty Images

A religion still practiced -

In this image, a group of worshippers reach for a snake held aloft by a "handler" during a service in 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee. Despite laws in place banning the practice, plus the dangers associated with handling venomous snakes, there are still some diehard practitioners left today operating out of small Christian churches across the rural South.

© Getty Images

Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 -

In September 1972, the Wild Life (Protection) Act was enacted by the Parliament of India in order to conserve animals, birds, and plants. Included in the legislation was a ban on the export of snakeskins. In addition, those owning or selling snakes faced being jailed for up to seven years.

© Shutterstock

Snake charming banned -

By the late 1990s, more stringent wildlife laws effectively ended the practice of snake charming, at least in India. The downside was that many charmers instead sought a livelihood in the interior, performing to smaller crowds in rural villages. Most snake charmers today barely make a living from the age-old practice.

© Getty Images

The charmers protest -

In 2003, hundreds of snake charmers descended on the temple of Charkhi Dadri in Haryana to bring international attention to their plight.

© Getty Images

Snake charmer to snake catcher -

One solution proposed by the Indian government was to retrain the performers to be snake handlers, capturing and removing venomous snakes from city and suburban gardens.

© Getty Images

Street musicians -

Another idea put forward would try to focus attention on the snake charmers' traditional music skills and treat them like other street musicians.

© Getty Images

Pakistan -

Beyond the Indian subcontinent, the snake charmers' art is still practiced, for the most part legally. Here, a snake charmer plays his pungi to prompt a cobra to dance during a cultural festival in Islamabad, Pakistan.

© Getty Images

Morocco -

At Djemaa el Fna square in Marrakech, it's common to see snake charmers at work.

© Getty Images

Sri Lanka -

Caught in evocative silhouette, a Sri Lankan snake charmer performs for crowds at the Galle Face promenade in Colombo.

© Getty Images

Myanmar -

While traditionally a role reserved for men, women are known to work as snake charmers as well. Here, a woman in a village in Myanmar sets about appeasing a particularly long cobra.

© Getty Images

Thailand -

A few fortunate snake charmers are actually professionals hired to work as part of stage shows hosted in tourist resorts. This image was taken at Phuket in Thailand.

© Getty Images

An unnecessary spectacle? -

In fact, most controlled snake handling and snake charming performed today are done for the purpose of entertainment. For example, belly dancers often incorporate a snake into their routines. The general consensus, however, is that it's an unnecessary spectacle often viewed as dangerous and cruel to the animal.

Sources: (Courier Journal)

See also: Actors who don't like working with animals

© Shutterstock