I thought I'd share a clip from a documentary I'm producing about India's snake charmers.

www.globalvpro.com/SAPYTREVA.wmv

The clip shows a snake charmer catching a spectacled cobra and preparing to milk the venom. A bite on the finger changes his plans.

I'd love to hear your comments.

I found it very interesting. That trick with the cow horn was something I've never seen before.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Thanks!

If you're all interested I'll keep you posted on the progess of the project and forward the appropriate links.

That was most interesting, I too have never heard of the "cow horn" trick, way cool. The guy on camera at the end made sense too on how we in the Western world have a hard time believing some of there medicinal techniques. After living in the Phillipines and spending alot of time in Thailand and Laos, you really see how the people there depend on those remedies to help them. I believe they work.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Wow, that was really interesting! The narrator has a good voice, and the shots are clear and engaging. How did you end up producing a documentary? It's quite impressive.

If the treatment wouldn't have worked, I assume that the guy would have died, correct?

Jennifer Gal

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I would think so Jennifer, India has almost 50,000 fatalities a year due to snakebites, one of, if not the leading country worldwide.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

"After living in the Phillipines and spending alot of time in Thailand and Laos, you really see how the people there depend on those remedies to help them.

As I'm sure you know (after having spent time where you have) traditional healers are often the only option for medical care in regions where western doctors, or hospitals, are either non-existant or too far away to be practical. Since most of our "mainstream" medicines are plant-based, it's not far-fetched to think that the indigenous people of the world have valuable contributions to offer.

Jengal, it's possible that it was a dry bite, so there is no way to know for sure, in this case, but there are groups that are willing to do further research. I'm glad you liked the clip. I'm a film maker with a lifelong interest in herps (my next project, hopefully, will be on dendrobates n central and south america).

Indeed!
A very interesting peice of film! Thank you for sharing it.
There is much that our "Modern" society has forgotten or dismissed as nonsense. We are finding out that we don't know nearly as much as we think we do. Indigenous peoples have treated ailments for years before pills and injections came along!
A very interesting clip. The slitting the skin and cow horn trick is similar to what used to be recommended in this country for venomous snakebite treatment.
As the gentleman in the video pointed out there was an inherent problem with that procedure.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!