A reflection from Thomas Tarleton

 Mai doi Lan

Avoo – medicine woman…

A mystery into a malady puts me in slow motion. Today Avoo treated me with a herbal curative. Leaves of a particular tree were finely chopped, some salt and some water… oh yes and 9 grains of rice for the nine souls of a man (7 for a woman). These were bound by an old cloth to my right hand and left foot. To be left there until evening. The police stains my hand black.

Evening settles upon the village. I baby cries echo down the hill. Dogs bark out their hunger. An Akha man has just left who helped chop away the brush where the snake was seen… brown with a large head. Two chickens are so far missing.