Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerous acts, as well as other street performance staples, like juggling and sleight of hand. The practice is most common in India, though other Asian nations such as Pakistan,[1] Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia are also home to performers, as are the North African countries of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.
Ancient Egypt was home to one form of snake charming, though the practice as it exists today likely arose in India. It eventually spread throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Despite a sort of golden age in the 20th century, snake charming is today slowly dying out. This is due to a variety of factors, chief among them the recent enforcement of a 1972 law in India banning ownership of snakes. In retaliation, snake charmers have organized in recent years, protesting the loss of their only means of livelihood, and the government has made some overtures to them.
Many snake charmers live a wandering existence, visiting towns and villages on market days and during festivals. During a performance, snake charmers may take a number of precautions. The charmer typically sits out of biting range and the snake is sluggish and reluctant to attack anyway. More drastic means of protection include removing the creature's fangs or venom glands, or even sewing the snake's mouth shut. The most popular species are those native to the snake charmer's home region, typically various kinds of cobras, though vipers and other types are also used.
Although snakes are able to sense sound, they lack the outer ear that would enable them to hear the music. They follow the pungi that the "snake charmer" holds with his hands. The snake considers the person and pungi a threat and responds to it as if it were a predator.
