Traditional Snake Charmers in India

[Snake Charmer]

Hello,

I work at a research institute where I am studying behaviors of different snake species from around the world here in Australia and I want to do some observations of the local Indian snake species and also speak to some traditional snake charmers. I hear that there are some villages where every one has been involved with snakes for generations and they pass on the knowledge from generation to generation. I would appreciate if someone could possibly give me the names of such villages and where they are in India. If that is too much to ask then please point me in the right direction/source where I can find such information and possibly get in touch with traditional snake charmers.

I hope someone can help me in this regard.

 

[jnorth88]

This is late as a comment, but it reminded me of these performers on my visit. The snake charming was actually only a brief part of their performance. Much of their draw comes from battles between the snake and a mongoose. My companions and I were quite surprised, since this is not something most people talk about, and I know why. It can be very bloody, upsetting most Western tourists. The performer offered to let the fight go to the death for payment. By then, we walked off, but a Canadian tourist paid to see how it would go. Sadly, both snake and mongoose looked very poorly kept, and would have been confiscated by animal control if it had happened in the US. I just thought this might be helpful to people who only think of it as a simple act by a street performer.

 

[gerbera]

That is really sad. I think this would have upset me if I had stayed. They allow such animal fights to happen, even in a tourist place? Someone actually pays to see the snake and mongoose fight to the death?

 

[jnorth88]

Yes. It happens, and from my experience seemed to be rather common.I agree that it was upsetting. But I understand that I come from a very different culture, so I try not to judge. I simply took no part in it. I think it is important to warn people about this, since most don't seem to know. As I said, I only had an image from cartoons, and thought that was all there was to it. But really, it is closer to dog fights, or chicken fights. Generally, the mongoose always wins, and the performers can go through many snakes in a day. You will generally see a cart filled with cages nearby where they set up, filled with the extras.