How Snake Charmers “Hypnotize” Cobras

Can you hypnotize a cobra, like snake charmers do?

What’s really going on when snake charmers hypnotize cobras? Are they hypnotized or just aggravated? Let’s explore this ancient tradition and learn how snake charming works.

What IS Snake Charming?

This age-old practice involves a cobra in a basket, a human, and a small reed pipe called a pungi. The most common snakes are the various cobra species native to the snake charmers’ home region. Indian and Egyptian cobras are two of the most common species, but charmers use others too.

Snake charming’s roots date back far enough that it’s hard to pinpoint with any precision. Some believe it began in ancient Egypt, while others argue in favor of India.

Some of the earliest snake charmers were probably healers who knew how to treat snakebites and remove them from homes. Over time, the practice developed into an art form, where charmers played the pungi while they moved along with the snake.

Today’s snake charming looks like an elaborate dance between human and serpent. The mysterious and alluring movements entrance audiences and snakes alike. But, how does it work?

How a Snake Charmer Charms a Cobra

The cobra’s mesmerizing movements include spreading that impressive hood, raising its body up, and following the snake charmer’s lead during the performance. Coupled with the exotic, low-pitched drone with a thin higher pitch sound that the pungi produces, you have a great show for anyone to watch. It includes a bit of danger and skilled snake handling.

Even though it looks like the snakes are listening to the music, they don’t have any external ears. Many people describe snakes as completely deaf, saying the only sounds they can “hear” are ground-borne vibrations. The experts even debate how much they can hear.

However, others point out that many snake species have fully formed inner ear structures, plus the quadrate bone in their jaw, which helps transmit sound. Some studies show that snakes can hear ground and airborne sounds in the 50 to 1000Hz range, with a peak sensitivity between 80Hz and 300Hz, depending on the species. But there’s nothing definitive.

So, it’s entirely possible that the snake is somehow responding to the sound. However, we don’t know enough about snake hearing to determine how it affects them, or how they respond to airborne sound. The studies are still new and relatively limited in scope.

Why Cobras Rise and Spread Their Hoods

Snake charmers take advantage of the cobras’ natural instinct to both fend off potential predators and keep an eye on things that can kill them.

Yes, a cobra’s hood is a defense mechanism! Just like other animals, the cobra wants to look bigger so it doesn’t have to fight because it would rather escape and live another day.

Think about it: in a fight with a human, the cobra loses even if it wins. So, to prevent that fight from ever occurring, it puts on a good show by raising its body off the ground and spreading its hood. Raising their body off the ground gives another advantage: they can see better! Some cobras can even spit venom at their attackers.

Far from hypnotizing the cobras, the snake charmers’ motions keep the snakes agitated and focused on what they perceive as a threat.

The Dark Side of Snake Charming’s Performances

Unfortunately, snake charming isn’t all fun and games. Some individuals keep the snakes dehydrated and hungry so they move slower. Others have stitched the snake’s mouth shut! In other cases, the cobra’s fangs and venom glands are removed.

In addition to the cruelty involved in some snake charmers’ practices, snakes are often captured from the wild before being used for performances. Some of the snake species are endangered, and removing them from the wild sometimes damages wild populations.

The problems with how some snake charmers gather their performance animals and the cruelty that some direct at their snakes led some countries to outlaw the practice. However, many snake charmers pointed out that they could be helpful to medical research by using their expertise to handle these dangerous animals while extracting venom.

One important note is that not all snake charmers treat their animals poorly. Most respect cobras and other serpents. These traditions are passed down from father to son, and the wealth of knowledge they possess could be a huge benefit to science and medicine.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock.com