How do fakirs make snakes dance to their tune? (5 photos)

“Did a snake crawl into your house? Threatens to bite someone in the family? No problem! Just call our office and a full-time snake charmer will be at your location within five minutes! Professionalism, first-class pipes, dementia and courage - that’s what will save you from an intramuscular dose of poison!”





Stop pointing your flute at me!

Sounds like great advertising for Southeast Asian countries. The only pity is that after the first call of such a “specialist”, clients will be disappointed in the magic of the caster. The fakir's actions, although spectacular, are absolutely ineffective against reptiles!



Lord, save him! This snake should not be so close to this strange man!

Legless reptiles can definitely hear magical trills, because they have full-fledged ears, albeit without a shell. Perhaps among the snakes there will even be connoisseurs of flute melody. But the magic of the piper does not lie at all in the enchanting power of art. His spell is brute force and cruelty.





“Release the hostage immediately or state your conditions!” - *sounds of pipes*

The snake does not dance to music at all. She's trying to defend herself! Reptiles can get used to being hand-fed, getting used to being picked up by a great hairless primate. But the pipe, flickering in front of the nose, is instinctively perceived by the animal as a threat. Especially if behind the stage the fakir beats her with this pipe to consolidate the reaction.



This is why cobras spread their hood. They do this in a situation where they want to scare off the enemy.

All that remains is to move the trigger object in front of the snake’s nose and stay behind the bite line. But even here you can simplify your task: keep the cobra in the cold so that it is lethargic and sleepy. Or don’t feed her until she’s exhausted. Another option is to cut out her glands altogether, pull out her teeth, or sew up her mouth entirely. Not all members of the profession study the behavior of snakes to make them dance but not bite. Many cheat.



I'm leaving you! You are evil!

Fortunately, reptile abuse stopped after 1973, when India passed a law banning reptile charmers. They, however, resisted at first and tried to perform in villages away from the authorities. But in 50 years this profession has practically died out, which is not at all sad.