Snake-charmers & Their Lifestyle
Sayem Ahmed Chowdhury
Dwellers of village Sonapur of Sunamganj district under Sylhet division are known as Snake-charmers. In Bangla they are called Bede. The predecessors of the community came from Assam of India. Evolving of time they are now settled in Sonapur. Bedepolli, a cluster of snake-charmer households, is situated in the bank of river Surma. Once upon a time, people of this particular ethnic group were invariably nomads. Nowadays it is seen they are settling in some place and live for a long time. Most of the houses are made up of bamboo or brick and corrugated sheet, some are tents. Those who are well-off, make houses by brick. The snake-charmers are inseparably same as mainstream people except only the difference in their customs and values.
