Description

Susan Conway’s talk is based on her book, Tai Herbalism, that analyses an early 19th century Shan manuscript about herbalism and magic.

Against all the odds, the author succeeded in achieving a translation of the manuscript with the help of a handful of elderly villagers able to read the ancient Shan script, and scholarly monks from Shan State Buddhist University, Myanmar. 

The translated manuscript offers a fascinating insight into the treatment of physical and mental illness in that era. Patients were first assessed according to local astrological and cosmological beliefs, then treated with a combination of traditional Shan herbal remedies reinforced with chants, spells and rituals.

Dr Conway reveals the extensive use of plants, herbs, chemicals and animal extracts as medicines, and supplies insights into the use of magic for both good and bad intentions.

Presenters:

Susan Conway is a research associate at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University. She studied fine art as an undergraduate and her Ph.D is a study of the history and culture of northern Thailand. She is a writer who specialises in the arts and culture of south-east Asia, and an artist whose work reflects Thailand’s landscapes and murals.

COST: 350 THB