Since the 1970s, Pakistan has set aside a reserved area in the south of Sindh Province for the "snake people" tribe to live in. This practice has been passed down for thousands of years.
The group of "snake people" is called a tribe because the practitioners of this performing art have developed many unique customs and rituals for hundreds of years. Every time a boy of the "Snake Man" family is born, people will drop a few drops of poisonous snake liquid on him. "Snake Man" believes that this will help him to be born with the ability to distinguish snakes and enhance the immune function of babies.
Catching snakes is the "snake man"' s housekeeping skill. The symbol of the "snake man" tribal boy growing up is to go into the mountains alone to catch snakes. In the eyes of "snake man", young men who can't catch snakes are not qualified to get married. Not only can they not get the girl's heart, they will never get married, but they will also be regarded as "black sheep" who insult the threshold. Whenever spring blossoms, "Snake Man" looks for snakes everywhere. In order to show respect, they should communicate with snakes by "talking" before catching them, and ensure that they will be taken care of and protected, and will be released after one year.
"Snake Dance" has a history of thousands of years in South Asia. Today, tourists visiting Sindh province in southern Pakistan can still see wandering artists covered with snakes every day.
The snakes on them can dance to the music of the flute and bring income to their owners. These artists are an ancient and peculiar group on the South Asian subcontinent: "Snake People".
"Snake Man" carries a unique musical instrument similar to China's flute. First, it plays melodious music to make the snake quiet. Then it put a special metal trap around the snake's neck to lure it to open its mouth. Then it takes out the poison sac hidden behind the snake's teeth at a very fast speed.
"Snake people" tribes generally marry each other and inherit their father's business. When a girl gets married, the dowry is usually an indispensable "three big things": a strong cobra, a bottle of medicinal powder to prevent snakes from biting, and a puppy who plays a supporting role in the performance. "Snake people" usually put snakes in bags and sell them everywhere.
It is said that there is a stunt in which a poisonous snake enters its mouth through its nose and then climbs out of it. However, if you want to master this stunt, you must start training at an early age, which requires a hard and long process. Another sideline of "Snake Man" is selling snake medicine. Anyone who has been bitten by a snake will put the powder provided by the "snake man" on cotton cloth and dip it in honey or milk, and apply it to the wound twice a month to recover.
There are also people in India who play the wooden flute and dance snakes, and the poisonous king cobra can dance to the tune of the wooden flute. This traditional performance is also an ancient profession. Hinduism advocates the snake god, and Hindu Shiva has companions to protect his snake god. The snake dancer in the picture above is a classic image with a bright red cloth on her head.
Playing wooden flute and dancing snakes are traditional Indian folk skills. It was once very popular. Because he often performed on the big stage, he earned a lot of money and became a wealthy class in India. But later, the opposition of wildlife protection organizations and the ban on some snakes limited their performance career.
Whether this traditional skill should exist or not is a matter for Indian snake dancers. However, at present, there are no wooden flutes and snake dances in India, leaving only some folk artists to survive by selling at tourist attractions.
In addition to flute and snake dancers, there are also street performers known as "brides of the sea". They live a wandering life by singing and dancing, belonging to the people living at the bottom of Indian society.
For the "snake man", snakes are the foundation of life, so they are like their own relatives. However, in recent years, in order to make money, some "snake people" have started selling snakes. For example, a cobra can be sold for 400 rupees (1 US$ 43 rupees), and the non-toxic common grass snake is priced according to its weight.
Because snakes are full of treasures, snake skins can be used as shoes and purses, and snake gall can be used as medicine, which attracts many fur traders and drug dealers. Those "snake people" who stick to ancient customs and traditions are firmly opposed to this practice of "forgetting their ancestors after several times". They think that "snake people" can make money with snakes, but they must never sell or kill snakes, because if there are no snakes in the world, the "snake people" tribe will disappear completely.
Playing with snakes is a traditional entertainment performance in India. Although this performance has become illegal due to the increasingly strict wildlife protection law, some families who have played snakes for generations still rely on it to make a living and support their families. Even a 2-year-old boy inherited this craft and dared to dance with cobra.
Sumit, a 2-year-old snake charmer, and Budh Nath, a 65-year-old grandfather, live in Faridabad, India, an hour's drive from New Delhi. Nass is currently training Sumit's ancestral snake skills. Encouraged by his family, Sumit dared to play with cobra and even wrapped this terrible creature around his neck.
Nass said that his family used to live a decent life by playing with snakes. Boys can go to school and girls can get married, but now their lives have become very difficult. Nass said: "Now we only perform privately in hotels, and only for acquaintances. You don't know when the police will arrest us and confiscate our snakes. "