Snake charmer Iwan set to break the record<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): If you are a poet, you will probably celebrate
\nyour country's anniversary by writing heroic poems and reading
\nthem in public. But what would you do if you were a snake
\ncharmer?<\/p>\n
For snake charmer Iwan Rachmat, who was born in Bandung, West
\nJava, celebrating Indonesia's 51st anniversary meant breaking the
\nrecord for living with poisonous snakes.<\/p>\n
Encouraged by the sponsor, the father of six children began an
\nattempt to realize his dream on June 28.<\/p>\n
In an air-conditioned room measuring about 8 by 12 square
\nmeters, Iwan has been living with 1,945 poisonous snakes, mostly
\ncobras. The room has a bed, a small cupboard with a small TV set
\non it and a telephone.<\/p>\n
Snakes were seen creeping everywhere. Some were sleeping on
\nthe floor and on the dead trees put in the room. Others were
\nchasing the frogs made available to them.<\/p>\n
\"I want to stop on Aug. 17, meaning that I will have spent 51
\ndays in a room with that many snakes,\" Iwan, 42, said, referring
\nto the 51st anniversary of the country.<\/p>\n
He said the sponsor is cooperating with the Ancol recreational
\ncenter management for his record-breaking attempt. His special
\nroom is standing in Gelanggang Samudra, Ancol, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"I have been promised Rp 4.5 million when I finish everything
\nwell. But it is not for the money that I am here. I'm just proud
\nto do this for my country,\" Iwan, now living in Kota Bambu, West
\nJakarta said. He is a healer.<\/p>\n
\"I heard a Malaysian has lived with 500 poisonous snakes and a
\nman in Bandung with 300 snakes. I want to be better than them,\"
\nthe Bandung technical college drop-out said.<\/p>\n
He said he hopes advertisement offers will come from companies
\nafter his record-breaking project is completed.<\/p>\n
It was the Ancol Recreational Park management who asked him to
\nlive with \"only\" 1,945 snakes, a reference to the year of
\nIndonesia's independence. \"Previously, I planned 4,000 or 5,000,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Problem<\/p>\n
He said he found it difficult to collect that many snakes
\nwithin a few days before the experiment began. \"The money
\navailable was only Rp 7 million (US$3,043), while we need Rp 14
\nmillion for all the snakes and everything required for the
\nproject. I had to pay the other Rp 7 million,\" he said. \"But
\neverything was all right. I love it. No problem.\"<\/p>\n
He said another serious problem that had haunted him during
\nhis initial days of the experiment was the death of some of the
\nsnakes.<\/p>\n
He was shocked and very upset upon seeing that many snakes
\ndied in the past week. \"I was worried. I don't want the number of
\nsnakes to drop before I finish my experiment,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post who interviewed him in the \"snake room\".<\/p>\n
\"Now I'm relieved that the Ancol management helps me to buy
\nnew snakes,\" he said, pointing to a number of white bags
\ncontaining new snakes. Snake suppliers are from West and Central
\nJava as well as other provinces.<\/p>\n
Each bag has an average of 12 snakes, which costs Rp 6,500
\neach. \"The price depends on the type of snakes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Iwan also buys frogs for the snakes. \"This week, I have bought
\n20 kilograms of life frogs from villages in West Java at only Rp
\n2,000 per kilogram,\" he said.<\/p>\n
His obsession with snakes started when he was a child after he
\nwas bitten by a snake. His grandfather, a traditional healer,
\ncured him. Now he cures himself from snake bites. \"I use parts of
\na snake's body to neutralize the poison.\"<\/p>\n
Iwan, who has been bitten by snakes an uncountable number of
\ntimes since then, said he knows much about snakes and loves them
\nvery much as \"they are nicer than men.\"<\/p>\n
\"Snakes will only attack you in self-defense. But men may rob
\nyou whenever or wherever,\" he said, grabbing a creeping large
\ncobra which (likely) wanted to interrupt the interview.<\/p>\n
-- Soeryo Winoto<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/snake-charmer-iwan-set-to-break-the-record-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }