INDIAN SNAKE-CHARMERS AT WORK.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 11 September 1914, Page 8

INDIAN SNAKE-CHARMERS AT WORK.

The main contention of the snakecharmer, whether he be Indian or Red Indian, is that he is absolutely immune from the oiies of the most poisonous snakes, and the manner in which he allows himself to be bitten by a cobra or aii'er never fails to impress, not only the native, but al;=o the white man unacquainted with the trices oi tnese iiuuiuugo. For humbugs they really are, although "it muse be conic-ssc-d that thej provide a very iv teres ting and fascinating entertainment. As a mac^i of fact, snake-charmers almost without exception, play either •-. it..i _,aa..es whose fan^s and poisonous glands have been removed, or use non-poisonous reptiles which they Pass off as dangerous varieties. And v.-hen they have attempted to charm snakes witnout removing the poison their exhibition has invariably coma to a tragic end, and, in spite of their cl'-ill and dexterity in nun-tiling, and t-he supposed magical antidotes which they carry with them. Often this is simply a piece of tree \ root, for which great medicinal qual- j Rites are claimed when applied to the '" wound.. Some astonishing and'inexplicable cures, however, have really been brought about by what is known as the snake stone. This is about the size of a threepenny-bit, dark in colour, and is said to be taken from the palate of a snake's mouth, although only^ one snake in a thousand has it. When wetted and applied to a wound, it appears to have some suctional property, by which it takes a firm hold of the skin, and its removal requires some force. It is said to draw the poison out of the wound almost instantaneously. There are really two kinds of snake-charmers—viz., the jugglers who profess to hypnotise snakes by the musical pipe and other means, and make them perform a ll sorts- of tricks while in that condition, and J the professional snake-finder,' who guarantees to rid a house of any reptiles with which it may he infested. The former, who is generally to be found at native bazaars, carries about with him as his stock-in-trade says the " Field " a tame cobra, or two whose fangs and poison glands have been removed. The performer will squat cross-legged on the ground playing a wild piping tune on his reed-like instrument, with the" snake in his coil two feet in front of him, swaying the erect portion of his body in slow accompaniment to the music. From time to time the man will stop playing, and pass his hand with a gentle, quivering motion backwards and forwards a few inches from the cobra, who strikes at it and misses, the hand having been withdrawn with marvellous quickness. The snake-finder works by smell as well as by music, or, at least, he asserts that he has an educated sense of smell, which enables him to discover the proximity of concealed snakes ; which, is simply another piece of bluff, for the arrangements made by the snake-finder easily permit of trickery. When a native in India thinks there are snakes in his house, he sends for the " charmer " to remove them. He arrives with an assistant, a crowd of natives from the neighbourhood is: collected, and the show begins. The , audience are arranged in a semi- ' circle round the entrance to the [ dwelling, and within this ring the : two performers move slowly about, playing their primitive pipes, with the object of luring the snake from ;' his concealment. I Then one of the two men will enter l the house, cautiously peer this way and that, while the onlookers watch carefully for the capture. Darting : into a dark corner he will make a j grab, .and, amid, the cries of the de- i lighted audience, emerge with a fine ! cobra held tightly by the neck. I A close examination of the snake's I mouth would reveal the fact that it ! was quite harmless. The snake is, i in fact, a pet animal, carefully concealed in the first instance in the loose folds of the clothing of the "charmer" and is smartly produced ! at the phychological moment. The! house-owner, is, however, thoroughly j satisfied that is house is rid of the ' scourge, pays the snake-charmer his fee, and the latter then makes off in ' search of fresh fields and pastures ! new, where he is sure of finding! other dupes.—"Spare Moments." j