Answer from Vasilisa kyueapngshoschzhd[active]
Sometimes we see images of an eagle holding a snake in its claws, which reflects the dominance of the spiritual over the natural evil power of the snake and the archetypal idea of ​​​​the conflict between good and evil.
Snakes are also associated with sexual energy.
Poisonous snakes have been the object of special worship since ancient times. Ophiolatry is the name given to the deification of snakes. Serpent worship has survived: today you can see a picturesque chilling dance full of risk, which is performed by the priests of the famous snake cults of Myanmar (Burma). The object of worship is King Cobra- the largest in the world poisonous snake: its length reaches five meters. Cobra is considered one of the most aggressive snakes. Intending to attack, she stands on her tail, and her front part of the body, raised almost vertically, is at least a meter long. Meeting with this majestic representative of the fauna, a person tries to increase the distance separating him from the cobra. A snake priestess from Myanmar has a completely different task - to dance with her poisonous deity.
As soon as the location of the king cobra is determined, the priestess begins her performance right in front of the cobra, at a distance of one or two meters. The hem of his long dress she manipulates like a matador and very skillfully dodges deadly throws. Soon the priestess's robe becomes damp, golden droplets of poison flow down it. The most main danger still ahead. At the end of her performance, the priestess suddenly leans forward and kisses the cobra. Sometimes to the head, sometimes directly to the lips. The girl repeats this twice. Then it slowly backs away, joining the rest of the snake worshipers and allowing the snake to retreat. The snake does this, and very hastily. The dance is over, the deity has left.
How do you learn to dance with a cobra? girls with early age are trained on non-venomous species of snakes or "cold" (devoid of a poisonous tooth) cobras. Their task is to thoroughly study the behavior and movement of the snake in order to be able to anticipate their attack in a split second. The dance of the priestess has a special musical accompaniment. It distracts attention or even hypnotizes the snake, reduces the speed, accuracy of strikes.
Snake charmers adopted the experience from the priests of snake worshipers.
English writer Lawrence Green in his book Last secrets Africa" ​​writes:
“Snake spells are an amazing and dangerous profession. Almost every spellcaster I knew died from the bites of their snakes. These fearless people could not master one secret in any way - how to stay alive. It seems to me that the art of snake spells originated in Egypt, which was the cradle of many arts. Snakes are the scourge of the Egyptian village. Maybe that's why the most skilled snake hunters and charmers appeared there. On the banks of the Nile, I have seen performances much more complex than in India.
... Cobras were a symbol of royal greatness. Tiaras in the form of cobras crown the heads of Egyptian statues. Cleopatra died from a cobra bite. Magicians at the court of the pharaohs could turn a snake into a stick, repeating the miracle once performed by the prophet Moses. Apparently, they squeezed the snake's neck so that the brain was paralyzed and the snake became hard as a stick.
African sorcerers are well aware of the habits of snakes. Europeans in tropical Africa they often turn to sorcerers if they suspect the presence of a snake in their home. And it almost never happens that a mganga does not find a snake and leaves without a reward. And what does five or ten shillings mean when a house gets rid of a mamba? Usually the sorcerer brings a flute with him and begins to play his melody in different parts rooms, waiting for the mamba to slip out into the open. A lithe, graceful creature, but it carries enough venom in its tooth to bite an elephant. The sorcerer seizes the moment, quickly grabs the snake with a forked stick at the end and throws it into his bag. It's almost always a scam these days. The sorcerer usually throws a tamed snake into the house, whose poisonous teeth are torn out, and then calls it out of the shelter with the help of "enchantment".

While we strive to teach our children to count by the age of three and read by five, Veda parents living in Sri Lanka are teaching their children how to handle ... poisonous snakes!

Anthropologists attribute the Veda to the Negritos, a black-skinned Australoid race. Once negritos inhabited most of South-East Asia. But later they were pushed aside by the happier modern inhabitants of these places to the inconvenience. The Veda live almost in the Stone Age. No radio, no other achievements of civilization, not even money. Unless, of course, small coins attached to the bracelets of their women as decorations are not considered money. They feed on whatever they can catch. Often goannas are eaten, which in Sri Lanka great amount. There they replace our cats - they rummage through the garbage. Veda, of course, do not receive any education in the European sense of the word. But you still need to live. This is where the ancient art of dealing with snakes comes to the rescue, including poisonous snakes that are deadly to humans. Therefore, they begin to teach children this craft immediately after they begin to walk. Our compatriot visited the village of Veda. His goal was to look at the education of children. According to him, at the initial stage of training, poisonous teeth are removed from snakes, just in case. The teacher, whose name was Kalua, seated several kids in a circle and began to show them how to handle the snake: in no case should they grab the tail, do not wave their hands in front of her head. There are many wisdoms in this science, the whole “course” takes more than one month. Toddlers of three or four years old know how to handle adult cobras. Veda pythons are quite tame and, if fed in time, are generally indifferent to what is done to them. All they need is a kilogram of mice per week! One cute little girl, having played, picked up a hefty cobra by the tail and began to swing it, bursting into laughter. The bespectacled queen of the jungle could not stand such mockery and, dodging, made a throw. In the blink of an eye, the girl released the snake and nimbly jumped away. She hissed and went into the basket. Here is how another of our compatriots describes the performances of snake tamers: “They don’t write posters for their performances and don’t sell tickets. It all starts very simply... Fakirs can be found everywhere. For a small fee, they offer their performance. Having received your consent, the fakirs are located right on the ground, open the lids of the baskets, and the performance begins ... From a large basket, feeling the fresh air, the snake languidly raises its head 2-2.5 meters long, which is immediately grabbed by the neck. It is, so to speak, an overture. Then you are shown other snakes of different colors and lengths - thin and long, medium and very small. And, finally, to the sound of a pipe, the most scary snakes- "Royal" cobras, in India, thousands of people die every year from their bites. Cobra is called the "plague of India". But now this "plague" obediently listens to the melody that the tamers extract from their pipes. This ends the first section of the presentation. The heroes of the second part are a poisonous snake and a mongoose, between which a deadly fight immediately begins. The mongoose, very dexterous, fast and cunning, tries to grab the enemy by the neck. And the snake, for its part, is trying to defeat the mongoose with a bite. The ten-minute struggle in most cases ends with the victory of the mongoose. A dead snake, the victim of an interesting performance, will still be useful to the owner. Her skin is worth more than the price of a performance with eight to ten people.” In total, 98 species of snakes live in Sri Lanka, the “king” cobra is considered the most dangerous species. Cobras are most active from mid-April to June and from September to mid-November. In July, the female lays 9-19 eggs, of which juveniles appear in late August - early September. Cobras feed on rodents, amphibians, birds, but, like other asps, they willingly eat snakes, including poisonous ones. Cobra represents an undoubted danger to humans and animals, but, unlike vipers, it always warns of its presence. Only in the event of an immediate threat does the cobra make several lightning-fast attacks towards the enemy, one of which, as a rule, ends with an aimed bite. At the same time, unlike vipers, cobras do not make an instant bite, but rather "chew", turning their jaws several times before releasing the victim. If you do not take the antidote, death will occur 2-3 hours after the bite. Antidotes made from snake venom are purchased from local healers. They don't believe in modern medicine.

Letters and publications hang on the wall:

Cobra. In total, 4 species of cobras live in Sri Lanka.

Cobras are most active from mid-April to June and from September to mid-November. In July, the female lays 9-19 eggs, of which juveniles appear in late August - early September. Cobras feed on rodents, amphibians, birds, but, like other asps, they willingly eat snakes, including poisonous ones. The cobra poses an undoubted danger to humans and animals, but unlike viper snakes, it always warns of its presence. Only in the event of an immediate threat does the cobra make several lightning-fast attacks towards the enemy, one of which, as a rule, ends with an aimed bite. At the same time, unlike vipers, cobras do not make an instant bite, but rather "chew", turning their jaws several times before releasing the victim.

If you do not take the antidote, death will occur 2-3 hours after the bite.

In total, 98 species of snakes live in Sri Lanka.

Chain viper. A very strong poison. After 30 minutes, the kidneys begin to fail.

Even if you take the antidote, bite marks will remain on the body. This is what it looks like after being bitten.

The Indian Krait, as Shami said, is the most poisonous on the island. Death occurs in 40 minutes.

Chain viper tries to bite the owner:

This is the fastest snake. Moves at a speed of 2 km per hour, likes to live on coconut plantations. Not poisonous.

Grass-green whipweed. They grow up to 2m in length. and only 1.5-2 cm thick. Has excellent eyesight. In the depths of the mouth, a pair of poisonous teeth is not particularly dangerous for humans. Leads an arboreal lifestyle.

Shami's father, also a healer, but now retired. He was bitten by poisonous snakes 32 times.

There are a lot of snake tinctures in the closet.

Medicines for all diseases are made from snakes and poison. These balls help with headaches.

snakes - amazing creatures that do not leave anyone indifferent. Snakes have long been associated with physical and spiritual healing. In ancient Greek mythology, Asclepius, the god of healing, was depicted as a bearded man dressed in a long cloak, leaning on a staff around which a snake was wrapped. The image of a snake has become a symbol of medicine throughout the world.

Shedding snakes are associated with renewal and resurrection. The Bible (psalm 57) says that vipers do not hear. Based on the principle that like cures like, viper venom has been used to treat deafness and various diseases ear. It is known that in case of danger, the female viper swallows her cubs, and when the threat passes, she pushes them out of herself.

In the Talmud, snakes are associated with prosperity and wealth. If you kill a snake in a dream, this serves as a warning about the possible loss of your entire fortune.

The snake tempted Eve to eat an apple plucked from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which led to the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise. They lost their innocence and felt shame and guilt for the first time. The snake indicates that disobedience leads to serious consequences.

Sometimes we see images of an eagle holding a snake in its claws, which reflects the dominance of the spiritual over the natural evil power of the snake and the archetypal idea of ​​​​the conflict between good and evil.

Snakes are also associated with sexual energy.

Poisonous snakes have been the object of special worship since ancient times. Ophiolatry is the name given to the deification of snakes. Serpent worship has survived: today you can see a picturesque chilling dance full of risk, which is performed by the priests of the famous snake cults of Myanmar (Burma). The object of worship is the king cobra - the world's largest poisonous snake: its length reaches five meters. The cobra is considered one of the most aggressive snakes. Intending to attack, she stands on her tail, and her front part of the body, raised almost vertically, is at least a meter long. Meeting with this majestic representative of the fauna, a person tries to increase the distance separating him from the cobra. A snake priestess from Myanmar has a completely different task - to dance with her poisonous deity.

As soon as the location of the king cobra is determined, the priestess begins her performance right in front of the cobra, at a distance of one or two meters. She manipulates the hem of her long dress like a matador and very skillfully dodges deadly throws. Soon the priestess's robe becomes damp, golden droplets of poison flow down it. The biggest danger is yet to come. At the end of her performance, the priestess suddenly leans forward and kisses the cobra. Sometimes to the head, sometimes directly to the lips. The girl repeats this twice. Then it slowly backs away, joining the rest of the snake worshipers and allowing the snake to retreat. The snake does this, and very hastily. The dance is over, the deity has left.

How do you learn to dance with a cobra? Girls from an early age are trained on non-venomous snakes or "cold" (devoid of a poisonous tooth) cobras. Their task is to thoroughly study the behavior and movement of the snake in order to be able to anticipate their attack in a split second. The dance of the priestess has a special musical accompaniment. It distracts attention or even hypnotizes the snake, reduces the speed, accuracy of strikes.

Snake charmers adopted the experience from the priests of snake worshipers.

The English writer Lawrence Green in his book The Last Mysteries of Africa writes:

“Snake spells are an amazing and dangerous profession. Almost every spellcaster I knew died from the bites of their snakes. These fearless people could not master one secret in any way - how to stay alive.

It seems to me that the art of snake spells originated in Egypt, which was the cradle of many arts. Snakes are the scourge of the Egyptian village. Maybe that's why the most skilled snake hunters and charmers appeared there. On the banks of the Nile, I have seen performances much more complex than in India.

Prepared by A. Mitrofanova. http://ezo.sestrenka.ru

Snake spells are an unusual and dangerous profession. Almost every spellcaster I knew had died from their own snakes. The only secret that these fearless people do not know is the secret of survival.

I think that the art of snake charms originated in Egypt, a country that gave the world many inventions. Snakes are the bane of Egyptian villages, which is perhaps why you'll find some of the world's most skilled snake hunters and charmers in the world. On the the banks of the Nile I have seen performances much more interesting and sophisticated than those seen in India.

Cobras served as a symbol of royal dignity, like tiaras on Egyptian statues. Cleopatra's snake was a cobra. The magicians of the pharaohs could turn snakes into a rod, imitating the miracle that Moses demonstrated. This, I think, was done by squeezing the head of the snake so that its brain was affected, and the snake seemed to become stiff.

Sorcerers all over Africa know a lot about the habits of snakes. White people living in tropical Africa often call a sorcerer for help when it seems to them that snakes have wound up in their dwellings. And the medicine man mgange rarely fails to detect a snake. For this, he deserves a well-deserved reward. And what is five or ten shillings when the house is permanently rid of poisonous mambas?

So the medicine man comes with his reed pipes. He utters a traditional spell and plays the pipe in different corners of the house until the mamba crawls out into the open. This writhing creature is very beautiful, but there is so much poison in his teeth that he could slay an elephant with it. At the right moment, the healer directs his stick forked at the end to her, grabs the snake and throws it into his bag. Now such an operation almost always turns out to be the result of fraud. This is, as a rule, a trained snake without teeth, which was planted in a bungalow, and then "lured" out of its hiding place.

Probably the best snake charmer of his time was Sheikh Moussa (the Arabic equivalent of the name Moses) from Luxor, familiar to many thousands of tourists. Both Moussa's father and grandfather were snake charmers, and both of them died from their bites. One day, the youngest son of Moussa went to the desert to collect snakes and was mortally stung. Moussa was always ready to share the same fate. So it happened in 1939, when he somehow climbed into a cobra hole.

The skill of Sheikh Moussa was unsurpassed. Before the performance began, he allowed himself to be stripped and searched. The snakes he pulled out of their burrows under the adobe huts were untrained. He could smell a scorpion sitting under a rock, or a snake hiding in a hole.

The smell of the snake, he said, resembles the smell of ammonia.

Casting spells and singing, Moussa lured the snakes out of their holes and called them to him. Sometimes the cobra tried to attack. Moussa gently pushed the snake away with his stick. Then the cobra rose and carefully watched the caster. This, probably, gave Mousse the opportunity to do what he wanted. He, without stopping his singing for a moment, slowly approached the snake. Finally, he put his hand on the ground, and the cobra lowered its head and placed it on Moussa's palm.

Other snake charmers, including head keeper Bald of the London Zoo, have also been able to put on the same show, with the snake resting its head in the palm of your hand. This was the most exciting moment of the performance that the wise exorcist Husain Mia had put on in Cape Town for many years. But the old Moussa had other sensational tricks that only a few spellcasters of the present and past could perform.

Moussa placed a wild, freshly caught cobra in a circle, which he traced with a stick in the sand. In this circle, the cobra remained as if locked up until Moussa allowed her to leave it. Of course, I understand that almost anyone can hypnotize a chicken in this way, but try it with a cobra! Having finished the operation of catching snakes, Moussa would put four or five of them in a circle and begin to conjure them all together. Their attempts to escape were clearly visible to anyone who watched the performance, but not a single snake could slither far when Moussa was looking at it.

Without a doubt, Moussa simply created a special atmosphere for performances with spells, because snakes have very poor hearing. However, they do respond to high-pitched flute music. There is a theory that a certain vibration of the air hits the scales of the skin or the tips of the snake's ribs - in much the same way as the feet hit the ground when walking. So playing the flute excites the cobra rather than bewitches it.

Watch a snake charmer with his cobra baskets and you'll see he doesn't rely on his pipe to lure the snakes out of there to start the show. He lightly strikes each basket, and then a snake appears. Snake charmers do have real skill, but the audience rarely realizes that what is really happening is not at all what it seems to them. The swaying of the cobra in time with the music of the caster is nothing but the attempts of the snake to follow the movements of the human hand. It is worth carefully studying the behavior of the snake charmer, and you will see: the thoughtful movements of his hand and body, as it were, control the behavior of the snake. He approaches her slowly, always trying not to disturb the animal. And as soon as she shows signs of irritation, he puts her back in the basket and, to continue the performance, chooses another.

Hagg Ahmad, another famous Egyptian snake charmer and friend of Russell Pasha, claimed to be able to hypnotize snakes by whistling. He caught rare snakes for zoos and serum manufacturers. Hagg Ahmad was a member of the "Rifai" - a secret society of snake charmers, whose activities are religious in nature and are regulated by their own rules. He has been vaccinated, as have the rest of the Rifai, but it is still impossible to achieve complete immunity to snake bites. His career was very successful - until the day he died from a cobra bite.

Russell Pasha had an expert on snakes in the Cairo city police - an Englishman named Bain. Russell and Bain studied the techniques of snake charmers independently, but came to very similar conclusions. They decided that the secret to luring snakes out of their holes often lay in the ability of charmers to imitate. Nothing, of course, can make a snake in hibernation move, but during the mating period, the caster imitates the specific whistle emitted by the female, and lures the male with it into the open.

Another explanation I heard in Egypt was that experienced spellcasters used some kind of substance secreted by snakes, which has the property of attracting other individuals. I think this theory has some scientific backing. The remedy is said to be particularly effective in collecting snakes.

Russell Pasha stressed that the caster needed sharp eyesight and quick hands. To these qualities, I would add the ability to concentrate on your work at any time and at any age. Many spellcasters died simply because they thought of something else instead of keeping a close eye on the snakes.

When, five years after the First World War, I first became acquainted with the exotics of Egypt, there was a peculiar type of youthful snake charmers whose performances were so disgusting that the government had to restrict this kind of activity. These swashbucklers might walk up to your table in a cafe on Port Said Boulevard or even on the terrace of the luxurious Shepard Hotel and offer to show you how they swallow a cobra alive. Although there were always people willing to pay for such a spectacle, from its appearance strong men began to feel sick, and the women fainted. Such artists no longer appear in fashionable hotels.

I remember one young guy who wore scorpions in his long black hair and held a cobra against his skin. Some of these people smeared their bodies with snake fat, believing that thanks to this they, as it were, entered into the trust of the snake tribe. Perhaps that is the way it is. One trick they did was a mystery to me for a very long time. The caster grabbed the cobra by the throat, forced it to open its disgusting mouth and spat into it. Let's face it, not the most refined entertainment, but the effect on the snake was simply amazing. In a second, she became as if petrified, and she could be held like a cane. It wasn't until a few years later that I was told that the caster had some kind of drug in his mouth that worked as soon as it entered the snake's mouth. This is another one of those tricks that looks like magic on the outside.

Some spellcasters may pretend to have been bitten by a cobra and show two small cuts on their finger. Rest assured, that "bite" was there before the show even started. These people usually apply a porous "snake stone" to their finger, a remedy they would never use if the bite were real.

The snakes favored by spellcasters everywhere are the cobras. Undoubtedly, their ominous "hood" gives additional sharpness to the performance. It should be noted that the cobra spreads its "hood" only when it is excited. This means that the snake is not under the influence of hypnosis when it sways to the tune of the caster, and certainly does not "dance". She is most likely just wondering what the caster is going to do, and you can be sure that the caster is watching the snake's eyes closely to see if it's aiming at his hand.

There are seven species of cobra in Africa, and they are so widespread that snake charmers easily collect their "inventory". The so-called Egyptian cobra, which is found from mediterranean sea to South Africa, is not a spitting snake, nor is the Cape cobra. But the ringhals and the black-necked cobra aim at their prey in the eye and can hit the target from a distance of seven feet. So you will have to rummage through the caster's bag for a long time before you find a spitting snake. To use it for a performance would be pure suicide.

Egyptian snake charmers often show very venomous horned viper. They also catch the dangerous carpet viper, but this species is extremely rare.

Husain Mia, the snake charmer whose performances in Cape Town I have mentioned above, sometimes asked for a king cobra to be sent from Burma. This snake has a very impressive appearance: it is the largest venomous snake in the world, and it seems huge among its smaller (zero less deadly) counterparts. The largest king cobras reach a length of 18 feet. They devour their fellow snakes, and the caster who keeps even one can lose all the other snakes if he is not careful.

Unfortunately, the king cobra South Africa does not live long. Husain Mia lost 14 expensive reptiles one by one, but they greatly enlivened his performances. Some of them are good-natured and calm, some are skittish. But nevertheless, every snake charmer craves the applause that only a huge and obedient king cobra can bring him. This is a snake that is being performed with a number known as the "death kiss". It can be performed only by a few among female spellcasters. It looks like it really takes some kind of hypnosis to kiss the snout of a king cobra.

Husain Mia loved Cape Town so much that he called himself "Cape Town Charlie". He was a graduate of the University of Magic, Fire Swallowing, and Snake Charming in Pune, as befitted a descendant of a family of hereditary Indian wizards. Husain Mia arrived in South Africa at the end of the last century, and one can hardly find in Rhodesia and the Union of South Africa locality wherever you see this bearded smiling artist in a turban with a small tom-tom and snakes. He stated that he even performed at Buckingham Palace. ("I made snakes dance for King Edward and King George," he boasted.) He did speak at the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town, but his usual place of performance was at the jetty entrance on Adderley Street. When this pier was dismantled, he usually performed on the Parade (one of the main streets of Cape Town).

Among my memories of Khusain Mia is an episode full of childish humor, which I must have watched dozens of times, and I never got bored with it. Husain showed the audience a small basket with a lid. He would then select a suitable victim from the crowd - preferably some brute who would mock his performance. He asked the "victim" to carefully inspect the basket and show everyone that it was empty. Husain covered the basket with a cloth, played a few mysterious beats on the flute, put the basket forward and asked the victim to place his palms under it with a "cup" and catch what would appear from there. This number was a complete success if he managed to convince the "victim" that the basket magically filled with money. The next moment, the frightened victim had a live snake in his hands. This snake was not at all dangerous, but it did not look harmless. I may have a primitive sense of humor, but rarely in my life have I laughed more sincerely. Husain Mia could put on performances that lasted for hours and still not repeat a single trick or joke twice. He also showed another number with a basket: his son Ibrahim wrapped himself like a snake around her, and Khusain plunged a dagger into the weave. But still, Husain was primarily a snake charmer. He sent his son to Pune so that he would improve his skills and then be able to continue the family business.

Husain Mia kept me entertained until I was an adult. He lived to the age of 75, which is probably a record for people in such a dangerous profession. The Cape cobra he was training bit him in the thumb on the right hand during a speech at the entrance to the Mount Nelson Hotel during World War II. The son was called, who was giving a solo performance with snakes about a mile away. But when he arrived, Husain was already unconscious, and he was taken to the hospital too late.

Dr. Hamilton Fairley, who was interested in this deadly activity, traced life path 25 snake charmers over a 15 year period. During this time, 19 of them died from snake venom. There were quite a few charmers in South Africa who let their guard down when working with snakes. Bertie Pierce, known to scientists and naturalists all over the world, was the most famous among them. His main business was selling snakes for museums and "milking" snake venom used to make bite serum.

Pierce should never have done this business. He had a weak heart, and after each bite, he doubted whether he could endure the treatment. Once a viper bit him on the arm when there was no serum nearby. So he decided to burn out the poison, and since then the sleeve of his shirt has been hiding terrible scars. And one day he went to his usual place in Cape Town, where he put on a show with snakes to entertain the usual crowd when his African assistant was absent due to illness. A small cobra bit him on the ankle - and bites in this place are always especially dangerous, since there are many small blood vessels there. Pierce was given medical care but this time it didn't help. The snakes had bitten him nine times before.

You may wonder why snake charmers don't "milk" the snakes before the show starts. The fact is that the poison in a special bag accumulates in snakes quickly enough. And getting a snake to bite a piece of cloth over and over again until its venom pouch is empty is quite a painstaking task. Of course, the caster can rip out the snake's teeth altogether, but people who truly take pride in their work rarely do so. Such snakes become lethargic, sick and do not live long.

Desmond Fitzsimons, a South African snake specialist and son of the famous F. W. Fitzsimons of the Serpentarium in Port Elizabeth, during one of his snake charm performances, thought one of them looked very much like a viper. It was so unusual that he began to examine it carefully. It turned out to be a harmless carpet snake, painted so naturally that from a distance it looked exactly like a South African viper.

There was another medicine man in Sinai, in Southern Rhodesia, who achieved great fame by performing various tricks with green mambas without fear. During one of the performances, this man was bitten and died. The local surgeon sent one of them to Fitzsimons to determine its breed. It turned out to be a type of tree snake, or, as it is called in South Africa, a boomslang, a very bright green color. Boomslang is a snake whose back teeth are venomous. That medicine man was very unlucky: boomslang rarely manages to grab someone with his teeth and kill. But when scientists figured out the type of snake, the mystery was immediately dispelled. No snake charmer, no matter how skilled, could survive so many performances with a real mamba.

The art of snake spell probably originated from the worship of snakes in ancient world. Doctors were snake charmers at the same time, and to this day the snake is the symbol of the medical profession. Therefore, it is not surprising that the members of the Rifai, the most skilled snake charmers in Egypt, are deeply religious people. They will clean your house of snakes, but at the same time they will make a reservation that the snakes will be taken to the desert and released into the wild. Without a doubt, snake charmers still possess secrets that are still unknown to anyone except members of their caste.

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