We have all been captivated at one time or another by the sight of the snake charmer sitting cross-legged, playing a flute, while his poisonous cobra, its hood swollen open, rises from a basket and sways from side to side. other. to the beat of the music.
Snake charmers have captivated and captivated both onlookers and snakes alike for centuries. The first documented use of snake charmer was in Ancient Egypt. There, a rearing cobra with its hood open was a symbol of royalty. At a time when less than ten percent of the population was literate, snake charmers were high-status, literate men who served as healers and magicians. They learned about the various types of snakes, which snakes were sacred to which gods, and how to treat people bitten by snakes. They were also entertainers, who knew how to charm reptiles for their clients.
Another early reference to Egyptian snake charm is the Old Testament Biblical account (Exodus 7:8-12), in which Pharaoh summons the best magicians in the land to compete with Moses and Aaron. The Egyptian magicians change their walking sticks into living snakes, but Aaron does something better for them, turning his walking stick into a snake that eats all his snakes.
Today, snake charmers are still active in Egypt and other North African countries, as well as in India and other Asian countries. Many of them can be found on street corners and they perform mainly for tourists. Others wander from town to town, performing in smaller towns during market days and festivals. Most use the hooded cobra, and in Egypt the most popular species is the aggressive Egyptian cobra, which can grow to a length of nearly eight feet and looks most impressive when its hood is puffed out.
So how do they do it? How do you make a snake freeze like a stiff stick? According to some accounts, the charmer grabs the snake and applies pressure to a certain point on its neck, pinching a nerve and causing the snake to stiffen like a stick until the charmer knocks it to the ground.
But how does the snake charmer prevent himself from being bitten? Unfortunately, many charmers today are apparently frauds who use non-venomous species, or remove the snake’s fangs or venom glands, or even sew the snake’s mouth shut.
So, did the Ancient Egyptian snake charmer employ the same tactics, or did they really make the snake do all those things without tricks? Only they would know.
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