An Indonesian singer known for performing with live snakes has died after being bitten by a king cobra onstage.<\/p>\n
Irma Bule, 29, is not a household name in the English-speaking world. But in Indonesia, she is known as a singer of dangdut, a pop fusion of folk, South Asian film music, and rock and roll that rose to prominence in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith its nasal, melismatic vocal style and propulsive hand drum rhythms, dangdut is in many ways a music of the Islamic world,\u201d Jeremy Wallach wrote in \u201cSonic Modernities in the Malay World,\u201d though \u201cmost dangdut songs deal with non-religious, sentimental themes, and the genre is frequently denounced as sinful and morally corrupting by strict Muslims in Indonesia.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Though once banned by the government, the style is now considered passe \u2014 so much so that Bule\u2019s penchant for performing with king cobras (Ophiophagus hannah), reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus) and boa constrictors, as Reptiles Magazine noted, was thought a bit of a \u201cgimmick\u201d that brought a grisly end.<\/p>\n
\u201cDangdut is such an oversaturated musical genre in Indonesia that it\u2019s not surprising how many artists employ gimmicks in their act to stand out from the rest,\u201d Cocunuts Jakarta, one of a network of sites that covers urban areas in Asia, wrote. \u201cUnfortunately, dangdut singer Irma Bule\u2019s deadly gimmick, combined with her dedication to showmanship, led to her untimely death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bule was performing in a village in West Java when she was presented with a king cobra that was supposed to have been defanged. It was not.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter might not have known that the snake that was given to her for the show was a dangerous cobra,\u201d Bule\u2019s mother, Encum, told an Indonesian outlet quoted by the Daily Mail. (Indonesians sometimes do not have surnames.) \u201cShe was told she could wear it, even though its mouth was not closed with duct tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
This information proved tragically wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the middle of the second song, Irma stepped on the snake\u2019s tail,\u201d Ferlando Octavion Auzura, who witnessed the attack, told an Indonesian news outlet. \u201cThe snake then bit Irma in her thigh.\u201d
\nA bite from a king cobra is, to say the least, very serious. The snakes can grow up to 18 feet long and, as their name implies, are a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems unfairly menacing that a snake that can literally \u2018stand up\u2019 and look a full-grown person in the eye would also be among the most venomous on the planet, but that describes the famous king cobra,\u201d according to National Geographic. \u201c\u2026 When confronted, they can raise up to one-third of their bodies straight off the ground and still move forward to attack. They will also flare out their iconic hoods and emit a bone-chilling hiss that sounds almost like a growling dog.\u201d<\/p>\n
The king cobra\u2019s venom is also powerfully deadly.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir venom is not the most potent among venomous snakes, but the amount of neurotoxin they can deliver in a single bite \u2014 up to two-tenths of a fluid ounce \u2014 is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant,\u201d National Geographic wrote. \u201cFortunately, king cobras are shy and will avoid humans whenever possible, but they are fiercely aggressive when cornered.\u201d<\/p>\n
This proved true in Bule\u2019s case. Though a snake handler with a venom antidote was on hand, the singer continued to perform for 45 minutes before collapsing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe effects were felt 45 minutes after the bite,\u201d Ferlando Octavion Auzura. \u201cShe vomited, had seizures, and her body seized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bule was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. She is survived by her husband and three young children, US Weekly reported, writing that police confirmed the singer\u2019s death. Her death is under investigation by police.<\/p>\n
\u2018I and her family are still trying to find out exactly what went wrong for our youngest child to die like this,\u201d the singer\u2019s mother said, as the Daily Mail noted. \u201cWe are waiting for the organizers of the show to tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: Washington Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An Indonesian singer known for performing with live snakes has died after being bitten by a king cobra onstage. Irma Bule, 29, is not a household name in the English-speaking world. But in Indonesia, she is known as a singer of dangdut, a pop fusion of folk, South Asian film music, and rock and roll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":205361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[117,137],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n