A crocodile arena in Jakarta 1986

Crocodiles & Snakes - Jakarta 1986


  David and Python - Bali 1998

In 1986, while in Indonesia, I was invited by a friend to see a performance involving crocodiles and snakes at a local arena.

Looking back over some 35mm slides that I took of it over 30 years ago, I find it all rather strange and do not clearly understand the point of it all.

This was not helped by the slides not being numbered and existing in a random order.

Thus I am not entirely sure of the order the slides were taken so I may be taking a few backward and forward leaps in time in the display below.

I think that there were unplanned sections in the performance, as at that time there was thunder, lightning and heavy rain.

The performers were slipping and sliding in the arena - including the snakes.

As can be judged from my expression in the photo at the left I am not a great fan of handling snakes.

At the end of the performance an individual in the auditorium voluntarily had himself skewered which perhaps was a fitting finale.

Perhaps it could have been improved on by a demonstration of the Balinese witch Rangda eating a child.

Rangda - the Child Eating Witch of Bali
Skewered variant
Determing the sex of a crocodile?
A crocodile heading towards the audience
Catch a crocodile by the tail.
Crocodile Control - Jakarta 1986
Crocodile Counselling - Jakarta - 1986
A visit to the Dentist - Jakarta 1986
I wonder what sex it is?
It's a male!
A charming snake
The one that almost got away
Crocodiles at Jakarta Zoo - 1986

 

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