Tai Herbalism by Susan Conway [PB-New]

Tai Herbalism by Susan Conway [PB-New]

The book is based on a translation of an early nineteenth-century manuscript written in an old Shan script in danger of extinction. At most, only a handful of older adults in Burma (Myanmar) can read it. The author achieved a translation with the help of monks and lay people living in remote villages and monasteries. It reads like a detective novel. Highlighting and publishing a translation of an endangered script is not the only reason this book is essential. It provides a fascinating insight into how diseases of the mind and body were treated in early nineteenth-century Burma. Shan herbal remedies were part of the treatment. Chants, spells, and rituals, part of a Shan magico-religious belief system, were administered at the same time.

Before treatment, patients were assessed according to astrological and cosmological philosophy. By Susan Conway 104 pp. 15 x 23 cm., 2023, Paperback