Back in the olden days, the streets of Bangladesh were home to thousands of entertainers who provided a welcome distraction from the constant haste of our daily lives. These entertainers occupied themselves with various activities to grab the attention of the pedestrians. From juggling, sleight of hand and folk musical gigs to monkey shows and snake charming, the urban spaces of the city were always bustling with life.
Snake charming was a tradition that involved playing instruments such as a flute or pungi, to create a sort of tune that draws the snake out of the basket. The snake, often a cobra, appearing to be hypnotized, extends its hood and moves to the music.
People have claimed that the tradition of snake charming has been passed down from father to son for thousands of generations, and some often adopted it as their primary source of income in order to help their families.
It is also said that the tradition of snake charming goes back almost 1,000 years or more. This could be true as several scriptures and artworks linked to the Mughal dynasty painted a picture of a man with a flute and a snake wrapped around his torso.
The earliest snake charmers were also traditional healers and knew how to treat snake bites.
Over time, commoners hired by village councils to drive away dangerous snakes began appointing themselves as snake charmers. They seemed to possess the necessary skill required to catch and manoeuvre snakes without getting bitten. They would round them up and keep them for cultural performances or to entertain the tourists.
An interesting fact that not everyone might know is that snake charming works even though snakes are deaf. They identify the waves of sound from the instruments as a possible threat and begin to move in self-defence. However, this movement gives the impression that the snake is swaying to the music.
In Bangladesh, snake charmers were typically members of the nomadic ethnic group Bede. But with mass urbanization and deforestation, these nomads have had to relocate to the metropolitan cities whilst the snakes continued to retreat to the deepest sections of the forest.
The tradition also goes against the laws set into motion to protect and preserve wildlife, and animal rights activists no longer stand by it.
Besides keeping the animals as pets for commercial use, snake charmers often remove the snake’s fangs in order to maintain safety and avoid the risk of getting bitten. When you remove their fangs, they have no means to feed themselves and eventually die of starvation.
As a result, this ancient art has been on the decline for several decades now and you can no longer see a snake charmer on the streets. The tradition not only violates the rights of the snakes, but people are no longer able to secure a living from it.