Snake charming
This is due to a variety of factors, chief among them is the enforcement of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 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.
The charmer typically sits out of biting range[5]: 251 and the snake is usually sluggish due to starvation or dehydration and reluctant to attack anyway.
[6] 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.
[citation needed] One of the earliest records of snake charming appears in the Bible in Psalm 58:3–5: "The wicked turn aside from birth; liars go astray as soon as they are born.
[7] Hinduism has long held serpents to be sacred; the animals are believed to be related to the Nagas, and many gods are pictured under the protection of the cobra.
Snake charming (or Baba Gulabgir) became their guru since his legend states that he taught people to revere the reptiles and not fear them.
Governments promoted the practice to draw tourism, and snake charmers were often sent overseas to perform at cultural festivals and for private patrons.
The law was originally passed in 1972, and aimed at preventing the export of snakeskins, introducing a seven-year prison term for owning or selling snakes.
As a result, Indian charmers were forced to move their performances to less-travelled areas such as small villages or face legal action.
In 2003, hundreds of snake charmers gathered at the temple of Charkhi Dadri in Haryana to bring international attention to their plight.
[10] In December of the following year, a group of snake charmers stormed the legislature of the Indian state of Odisha with their demands while brandishing their animals.
Snake charmers typically walk the streets holding their serpents in baskets or pots hanging from a bamboo pole slung over the shoulder.
Dress in India, Pakistan and neighbouring countries is generally the same: long hair, a white turban, earrings, and necklaces of shells or beads.
[14] In West Africa, charmers have been observed to treat the snake's body and mouth with herbs that paralyze the jaw muscles and cause inflammation of the venom glands.
[14] Members of the Pakkoku clan of Burma tattoo themselves with ink mixed with cobra venom on their upper body in a weekly inoculation which may protect them from the snake, though there is no scientific evidence of that.
This is less true today, as many charmers also scavenge, scrounge, sell items such as amulets and jewelry, or perform at private parties to make ends meet.
