This isn’t musical magic, it’s pure cleverness. All snakes – including the cobra, the most used for this type of presentation – are practically deaf. The sound of the flute, therefore, has nothing to do with the story. When the charmer opens the basket where the snake is, it naturally rises, as it is part of its instinctive behavior to keep part of the body erect. What arouses the animal’s curiosity is the movement that the charmer makes with the flute. “If he performs the same movement with his hand or arm, the snake will be just as interested”, says biologist Giuseppe Puorto, from the Butantã Institute in São Paulo. Another trick can help your presentation succeed. “Some experts say that enchanters also rub rat urine on the tip of the flute, which whets the cobra’s nose and helps keep its attention fixed on the instrument.”
