Feasting on king cobra: Danger of delicacy?

Feasting on king cobra: Danger of delicacy?

By V. Anjaiah

JAKARTA (JP): We have read stories about blood-sucking
vampires. We have seen people eating fried chicken, goat, cow and
pig blood. But have you ever seen anyone drink fresh cobra blood?

If not, go to Jakarta's busy Jl. Mangga Besar, a street in
West Jakarta filled with discos, karaoke halls, pubs, bars,
massage parlors.

If you still need more action, you can see people perform
unimaginable things at special warung (food stalls) locally known
as warung ular kobra (cobra restaurant). They offer a wide range
of reptiles ranging from ordinary cobras and pythons to the
deadly king cobra. The snakes are not only delicacies but are
also believed to have medicinal and sexual powers.

These warung are mushrooming in many parts of Jakarta and
mainly cater to well-off tourists from Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong,
China and Japan as well locals of Chinese descent.

Well before midnight I entered one warung with a colorful
banner hanging out front. As I walked in, a luxury car pulled up
and three handsome youths in their early twenties entered the
empty warung. The waiter invited us to inspect the huge iron cage
housing scores of white cobras, black cobras, taliwangsa (Boiga
dendrophila) and also a three meter king cobra.

One of the three patrons, 24-year-old Hengky, examined the
cage carefully and ordered a white cobra.

To my surprise, the waiter grabbed the snake with his bare
hands and cut off its head in one stroke. He drained the snake's
blood into a tea cup, it only filled one tenth of the cup.

Hengky was exhilarated and ordered another fatty, two meter
black and yellow striped snake locally known as taliwangsa. The
waiter repeated the process and added some arrack laced with
Chinese herbs and two spoonfuls of honey to the blood.

Hengky's shaky friends didn't have the guts to try the
concoction, but Hengky quaffed the drink in one swallow as if it
was fresh milk. He is a regular customer.

One may wonder why a healthy young man like Hengky drinks
snake blood.

"Besides the blood, the meat is also good for your health.
Snake meat and blood cure many diseases," claims Amir, the owner
of the warung which offers cobra soup, sate cobra and fried
cobra.

The city's famous King Cobra House restaurant chain, which has
outlets in almost every corner of Jakarta, claims that a snake's
blood, meat and entrails can cure diabetes, asthma, skin
diseases, backaches, allergies, gastric problems, weak eyesight,
high blood pressure, problem pregnancies and is also an
aphrodisiac.

"Cobra blood and guts, if mixed with our special arrack, can
enhance your sexual performance," boasts the restaurateur.

This may be why there are five warungs and one King Cobra
House restaurant along the 500 meter street where most of city's
sex workers operate.

Each stall sells an average of 10 to 15 reptiles each night.
On weekends the figure may reach 30. An ordinary cobra costs
about Rp 10,000 (US$4). One plate of fried cobra costs Rp 3,000
and sate may cost Rp 6,000.

The most popular and expensive item on the menu is fresh
blood. The rate depends on the kind of snake you choose. The
other ingredients like arrack, whisky and honey are generally all
ready added in. If you buy a snake you can drink its blood and
eat its meat.

Since most snakes have little blood, except the giant king
cobra whose blood can fill a large beer mug, warung owners offer
different packages.

"We offer our customers, most of whom come from Taiwan, Korea
and Hong Kong, a special package consisting of three kinds of
reptiles, other than king cobra, for Rp 25,000. For a single
cobra we charge Rp 10,000," said Amir, who has been in the
business since 1982.

A king cobra goes for between Rp 200,000 and Rp 500,000.
Earnings vary from season to season, depending on the
availability of the snakes.

"During the wet season, when the supplies are scarce, we have
to pay more for the snakes. But during the rainy season we get
them very cheap and our earnings are not bad," said another
warung owner.

Most of the snakes come from Serang in West Java, Lampung in
Sumatra, and Banyumas and Cilacap in Central Java.

The snakes aren't fed for several weeks to keep their blood
tasty. If they are fed, the blood tends to smell bad. This
doesn't harm the snake because, according to several
herpetologists, snakes are lazy eaters. Few eat more than once a
week, many eat only 8 or 10 times a year.

Handling poisonous snakes is risky because bites can be fatal
if not treated with anti-venom immediately.

"A cobra bit me on my hand recently," said one waiter while
pointing to the wound on his right hand. He didn't go to the
hospital but to his village of Serang for treatment.

"One should be very careful while handling these reptiles,
especially the king cobra. That's why I always use a thick hand
glove when I catch hold of its neck to show it to customers," he
added.

Many people are afraid of snakes, but not two daring girls,
Sari, 20, and Vivi, 21, who work at the King Cobra House in
Palmerah. They not only take care of the deadly reptiles but also
operate the restaurant.

"I know it's dangerous. I have to work here to earn my bread,"
said Sari, who is from Cianjur in West Java.

She lied to her parents about working in the restaurant. "Of
course it's a restaurant, but its a different one isn't it?" she
said laughing.

When asked about the taste of snake meat: "It's tastier than
chicken and the blood mixed with arrack tastes like syrup," said
Vivi, a junior high school dropout from Ciamis, West Java and an
expert in traditional medicine.

The business is lucrative because most customers just drink
the blood and leave. A warung owner can sell the snake's skin to
bag, belt and wallet makers and cook the meat.

One local bought a three meter king cobra at Amir's warung for
Rp 200,000, drank one glass of blood and left. An expensive fix.

It isn't known if cobra blood or meat can cure diseases, but
the practice has been going on for centuries. Some people say it
is the herbs that accompany the snake meat or blood that cure the
diseases. However, the intertwined reptiles of the Greek caduceus
are still used as a symbol of healing by the medical profession.

Cobra blood and meat actually being an aphrodisiac, however,
is highly debatable.

"I have found some differences. Therefore, I always drink
cobra blood before intercourse," said 35-year old Kim while
sipping king cobra blood.

But sexologists have a different opinion.

"There is no food or drug which can act as a direct sex
stimulant," said world famous Indian sexologist Dr. Prakash
Kothari, who won the World Association of Sexology's award for
Man of the Year in the field of sexology in 1989.

One thing is clear, however, people have faith in this kind of
medicine and have been using it since antiquity in Asia.

The warungs must compete for supplies from the ever-increasing
number of snake hunters, who kill snakes to sell their colorful
skins to tanneries. Their actions may one day lead to the
extinction of these tasty reptiles.