This art has been practised from very ancient times in Africa and the
East, and often remains from generation to generation the profession of
a family. It is sometimes practised for alleged useful purposes, since
the “charmers” are often employed to clear a house of its unwelcome
snake visitors. For the most part, however, it is, like conjuring, a
form of popular amusement. In India it is practised by several distinct
classes of men, who vary in the methods and success of their art. The
charmers usually take good care to play with snakes whose fangs or even
poison-glands have been carefully removed, or even to use those which
are not venomous at all. The frequent use of a musical pipe, and the way
in which the snakes seem to respond to the sounds, are facts interesting
to naturalists, who believe that at least many snakes are very deaf. The
charmers sometimes manifest a fearlessly confident dexterity in handling
intact venomous snakes.