The Dynamics Between Nomadism and Livelihood Strategies among Snake-Charmers in India: A Study of Nomadic Sapera Community

Rahul Rahul, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Chandra Jyoti Sonowal, Tata Institute of Social Science

In India, due to the modern development process and legislative factors, the identity and livelihoods of the nomadic tribes are on the verge of extinction. Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected from field sites, this study explores the changing patterns of nomadism and its linkages with livelihood strategies among India’s nomadic snake charmers. The introduction of modern means of entertainment and the Wildlife (Protection) Act have played an important role in shaping the existing pattern of spatial mobility among snake charmers. Due to restrictions on using wild animals for commercial purposes by the Indian Government, the community resorted from snake charming to providing herbal medicine as their primary livelihood by involving an element of spatial mobility. Mainly the male members make movement to places ranging from the Himalayan ranges, the plains of the Ganges, and desert areas of western India. However, concluding that in the contemporary period, the phenomenon of mobility among Saperas is mainly governed by their livelihood practice of herbal medicine suggests including the aspect of occupations related to herbal medicines and lost snake-charming in the policy framework and also studying these aspects intensively, protecting their intellectual property rights simultaneously.

Keywords: The Demography of Indigenous Populations, Population and Development, Internal Migration and Urbanization, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination

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