Sri Lanka’s disappearing snake charmers carry a legacy of fear and fascination

A small nomadic community known as the Ahikuntika, once familiar across Sri Lanka for performances involving flute-playing snake charmers and cobras, is fading as families settle into permanent homes and shift to farming and fishing. Herpetologist Anslem de Silva explains that the apparent 'charming' was never about music — cobras respond to the movement of the instrument, and the raised hood is a warning display, not a dance.

Some performers reportedly defang cobras caught from the wild to reduce injury risk, a practice passed down through generations. The decline raises concerns both for the animals involved, who face confinement and stress, and for the loss of traditional knowledge held by a community whose livelihood is disappearing along with the practice.

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