SNAKE-CHARMERS 229 
all 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 with 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: ‘I adjure you, by God, if 
you are without 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 Mal, 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 Sangis 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 Rondot 
(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. 
! Aperçu général sur l'Egypte.” Paris, 1840. 
