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Pronounced "Gatherer", but, hey, it's web 2.0 and we leave the last
"e" out right? Gatherr collects the best of this and that from here and
there on the web for no other reason than sharing. It's about stuff
that seemed interesting at the time. Enjoy.




ABOUT

My
name is Tony Johansen. I am an artist. I like art and science and
poetry and books and history and technology and lots more besides.
Every day I am excited by the marvelous things I see in this wonderful
world and beyond. I love the Internet for giving me access to so much.
I am like a sponge for wondrous things or things that make me wonder. This site is really just a
scrapbook. Being on the web, however, means being able to share the
treasures I find. That's me, Tony Johansen, artist who likes to share
my excitement of being alive.




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LINKS


  • Po-mz

    Wonderful poetry collected and shared by Tony Johansen


    • Archive

    Dec
    29th
    Sat
    permalink
    Snake Charmer in Sri Lanka. Snake charming originated in ancient Egypt and spread from there to India. When the snake charming died out in Egypt for some centuries, India was the place that the practice spread from, including its reintroduction into Egypt. Today it is practiced in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, as well as India, the place most people associate with the practice.In India, however, snake charming is in rapid decline. Snake charmers are often very poor and engage in a wide range of street entertainments including magic and juggling. The practitioners typically are itinerant, moving from town to town, and are often treated with suspician by local villagers. More significantly they are accused of cruelty to the snakes.While the smake charmer appears to be in danger from the Cobra it is normal for the snake charmers to protect themselves by defanging the snakes, removing the poison glands and even sewing the snakes mouths shut. This is inherently cruel to the animal. In addition the snakes are kept in small baskets without free movement. As a consequence the Indian government has been indirectly trying to shut down the practice by enforcing old laws forbidding the ownership of snakes. For their part the snake charmers themselves have made public appeals for the preservation of their lifestyle as a cultural heritage issue. They have received considerable support for this from Westerners who mostly are unacquainted with the issues of animal cruelty involved. This has had some short term positive effects from the point of view of the snake charmers in slowing down government moves against snake charming but it does seem that the dangerous nature of Cobras means the snake charmers will always need to either defang or remove poison glands from the smakes, and public safety issues would also require that, and as this will always involve some degree of cruelty to the snake, it seems that in the long term this ancient practice will die out because of the unavoidable cruelty issues.

    Snake Charmer in Sri Lanka.

    Snake charming originated in ancient Egypt and spread from there to India. When the snake charming died out in Egypt for some centuries, India was the place that the practice spread from, including its reintroduction into Egypt. Today it is practiced in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, as well as India, the place most people associate with the practice.

    In India, however, snake charming is in rapid decline. Snake charmers are often very poor and engage in a wide range of street entertainments including magic and juggling. The practitioners typically are itinerant, moving from town to town, and are often treated with suspician by local villagers. More significantly they are accused of cruelty to the snakes.

    While the smake charmer appears to be in danger from the Cobra it is normal for the snake charmers to protect themselves by defanging the snakes, removing the poison glands and even sewing the snakes mouths shut. This is inherently cruel to the animal. In addition the snakes are kept in small baskets without free movement. As a consequence the Indian government has been indirectly trying to shut down the practice by enforcing old laws forbidding the ownership of snakes. For their part the snake charmers themselves have made public appeals for the preservation of their lifestyle as a cultural heritage issue. They have received considerable support for this from Westerners who mostly are unacquainted with the issues of animal cruelty involved.

    This has had some short term positive effects from the point of view of the snake charmers in slowing down government moves against snake charming but it does seem that the dangerous nature of Cobras means the snake charmers will always need to either defang or remove poison glands from the smakes, and public safety issues would also require that, and as this will always involve some degree of cruelty to the snake, it seems that in the long term this ancient practice will die out because of the unavoidable cruelty issues.