Social relevance of snake charmer’s songs in odisha – a historical analysis

The snake charmer is an ancient art form which is prevalent in the Indian society since the puranic days. But it is more popular and vibrant in the Odishan society. Odisha- a land of high hills and dense forests, is infested with gigantic snakes like Ahiraj (King of snakes), pythons, Sankhachuda, and poisonous snakes like Cobra, Tampa, Chiti, Ardalia, Boda, etc. The sapua kelas (snake charmers) of Odisha maintained their livelihood by hunting snakes and demonstrating their games in different villages and cities of Odisha. The sapua kelas are found throughout the length and breadth of Odisha. But, they are mostly concentrated in the villages around Champua subdivision of Keonjhar district and Patia near Bhubaneswar of Khurda district which may be called as the country of sapua kelas. An attempt has been made in this paper to portray the social significance of the snake charmers’ songs of Odisha.