The family of a young man who died of a snakebite in Babuganj, Barishal, kept his body in the courtyard instead of burying it and held an exorcism, causing a stir in the area.

The incident took place in the Chandpasha area of Babuganj upazila on Friday (17 April).

Doctors at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital declared the young man, Sayem, dead on Friday morning. Believing that something miraculous might happen by the Creator's will, his relatives took him home and had ojhas (traditional healers) and snake charmers perform an exorcism. The exorcism by various ojhas and snake charmers went on until 3pm, but with no response, they too finally declared him dead. He was buried at his home after the Asr prayer.

The dead man, HM Sayem, 27, was the son of Syed Howlader of Rajmatha in ward 2 of Chandpasha union in the upazila. He was a covered van driver.

According to his family and local people, on Thursday night, after parking the covered van at the end of work as usual, he was walking home when a snake bit him near the Bhanga Bunia canal, where Chandpasha and Rahmatpur unions meet. He somehow reached home, but the venom gradually spread through his body and at one point he lost consciousness.

At around midnight he was taken in a critical condition to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal, where doctors quickly gave antivenom. Although antivenom was given twice in a row, he did not regain consciousness. On Friday morning the doctors declared him dead and handed his body to the family.

Instead of burying him, however, relatives kept him in the courtyard and brought in snake charmers and ojhas from various places to perform an exorcism, believing Sayem might come back to life miraculously. The incident caused curiosity and concern in the area, and crowds of onlookers gathered at the house.

Sayem's relative Md Jewel Hossain said: "The doctors declared Sayem dead, but we did not give up hope. We tried out of the belief that something miraculous might happen by the Creator's will."

Local union parishad member Halim Howlader said Sayem's father is not alive, and he leaves a two-year-old daughter, his wife and his mother. The family has become helpless with the death of its earning member, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.