SNAKE-CHABMEBS 229 



;ill time. Strabo speaks of them, and Prosper Alpinus was a 

 witness of the singular effects of their art. The majority of 

 modern travellers who have visited Egypt have been equally 

 struck wath the freedom with which they handle poisonous reptiles 

 and animals. 



" The Psylli go from house to house, calling forth and charming 

 the snakes that they may happen to contain. They claim to attract 

 them by means of a particular power. Armed with a short wand, 

 they enter the chamber to be purged from these venomous guests, 

 make a smacking noise with their tongue, spit upon the ground, 

 and pronounce the following incantation : ' / adjure you, by God, if 

 you are icitliout or within, to appear ; I adjure you, by the greatest 

 of names ; if you are obedient, appear ! If you disobey, die ! die ! ' 

 The snake, submissive to this command, departs forthwith, issuing 

 from a crack in the wall or floor. "^ 



India is pre-eminently the country of snake-charmers. There 

 exists an entire caste of Hindus, called Mai, who are professional 

 catchers and vendors of snakes, but do not perform tricks with 

 them. 



The snake-charmers are recruited from among another caste, 

 that of the Sang is or Tubriwallahs of Bengal. 



These men, who are usually clothed in yellow robes and wear 

 large turbans, manage the Cobra with really marvellous skill. All 

 travellers who have had the opportunity of crossing India or of 

 touching at a port on the coast or on that of Ceylon have 

 witnessed scenes similar to that described by Natalis Kondot 

 (figs. 90 and 91) :— 



" Towards six o'clock in the evening a Hindu juggler comes 

 on board. He is poorly clad, and wears a turban decorated with 

 three feathers, and several necklaces of those amulet-sachets called 

 gris-gris in Senegal. In a flat basket he carries a spectacled Cobra- 

 di-Capello. 



' " Aper9u general sur I'Egypte." Paris, 1840. 



