{"id":3882,"date":"2020-03-13T01:03:18","date_gmt":"2020-03-12T18:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/?p=3882"},"modified":"2020-03-15T10:59:39","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T03:59:39","slug":"science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/","title":{"rendered":"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Malaria and tuberculosis screening out front and sacrifices to jungle gods out back, health worker Htan Pi and her shaman mother are an unlikely double-act in their isolated Myanmar village.<\/p>\n

Their family have been the local healers for generations in the northern community of Satpalaw Shaung near the Indian border.<\/p>\n

This is Naga territory, a tribal region of former headhunters with myriad languages and customs still largely based on animist beliefs<\/p>\n

But trainee Htan Pi, 24, is helping usher in modern medicine thanks to a band of health mentors on motorbikes.<\/p>\n

Sitting on the porch of her family’s bamboo house that doubles as a clinic, Htan Pi who can administer basic health care insists she is not in competition with her mother, the village shaman.<\/p>\n

“People come to me first and only go to my mum if they don’t get better,” she said<\/p>\n

Her mother Jang Ngon picks up the story, describing the case of a man suffering from severe swelling all over his body which did not respond to treatment at the hospital, a day’s walk away.<\/p>\n

“We needed to call his soul back from the jungle, so we sacrificed a chicken and the patient got better,” said Jang Ngon — who believes she is around 50-years-old.<\/p>\n

– Daring doctors –<\/strong><\/p>\n

Retreating British colonialists left Naga tribes divided between India and Myanmar.<\/p>\n

Those on the Myanmar side of the border remain largely cut off from the rest of the country in an area still desperately under-developed.<\/p>\n

In Lahe, one of three Naga townships, it can be a gruelling walk of several days to reach the nearest developed town, negotiating precipitous, muddy paths over sharp mountain ridges.<\/p>\n

Picking up a phone signal is a rare triumph, two in five villages have electricity, and only one in five boasts a government-run health clinic.<\/p>\n

“The needs are so huge…the government cannot do it alone,” says regional MP Kail, who goes by just one name.<\/p>\n

To bridge the gap, intrepid health workers from Medical Action Myanmar (MAM) head to the remote communities by motorbike, foot and even boat.<\/p>\n

Lines of patients await their arrival for the monthly mobile clinics that often run late into the evening by firelight.<\/p>\n

Alongside more common ailments, TB is a constant threat and the hunting traditions of local tribes add risk.<\/p>\n

“Their lifestyle is quite injury-prone,” says the NGO’s regional head Dr Zaw Min Lay, wiping the mud from his glasses after undertaking a ride of steep hairpin bends, ramshackle bridges and a river crossing by rowing boat.<\/p>\n

But the NGO’s success lies primarily in its network of health volunteers.<\/p>\n

One person in each of the area’s 275 villages has been trained to distribute basic medicines, from painkillers to rehydration salts, screen for TB, and, crucially, conduct malaria tests.<\/p>\n

Patients give a drop of blood and receive a result in just 15 minutes, flagging cases of the often fatal sickness early.<\/p>\n

The organisation provides transport to the nearest hospital for anyone needing emergency help, saving excruciating journeys by foot.<\/p>\n

“We have no motorbikes and no money to pay for a motorbike taxi,” says farmer Mon, 30, visibly relieved after testing negative for malaria in Toe Lawt village.<\/p>\n

Improved rural health services are largely credited for driving down malaria across Myanmar by more than 90 percent between 2010 and 2017, World Health Organization (WHO) figures show.<\/p>\n

But Naga is particularly problematic.<\/p>\n

“Language, transportation and zero telecommunications are the major challenges,” explains Zaw Min Lay.<\/p>\n

The trainees offer a lifeline — however basic — for communities, especially in the rainy season when mud and landslides can leave villages completely marooned.<\/p>\n

– Rickets riddle –<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the NGO’s army of volunteers has also uncovered a medical anomaly — a high concentration of rickets.<\/p>\n

The bone disease, which can result in irreversible limb deformities and stunted growth, is often caused by a lack of vitamin D, obtained in part from sunlight and hardly an expected problem in tropical Myanmar.<\/p>\n

Mon’s six-year-old son, Mg Taing Khite, is one of about 300 such cases in the area, his legs so bowed and painful, he was unable to walk just a few months ago.<\/p>\n

Thanks to a course of vitamin D and calcium supplements,
\nMg Taing Khite now cavorts around with the village’s other kids.<\/p>\n

MAM is conducting research into the conundrum.<\/p>\n

Zaw Min Lay thinks it could be caused by a combination of a poor diet, genetic predisposition and lack of sunlight in the thick jungle.<\/p>\n

As the health workers pack up their bikes to leave Satpalaw Shaung village, Jang Ngon says she accepts modern medicine is easing out the family tradition of shamanism.<\/p>\n

She says it’s not easy to take up the shaman trade, reeling off a list of costly sacrifices of chickens, pigs and oxen.<\/p>\n

Besides, she adds, she is getting older and her eyesight is going.<\/p>\n

“I tell educated people to go to the clinic instead.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Malaria and tuberculosis screening out front and sacrifices to jungle gods out back, health worker Htan Pi and her shaman mother are an unlikely double-act in their isolated Myanmar village.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"A trained NGO specialist administers medicine in one of the remote villages. AFP","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":null,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":null,"footnotes":""},"categories":[258],"tags":[607,796,797],"yoast_head":"\nScience and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes - CapitalCambodia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With Malaria and tuberculosis screening out front and sacrifices to jungle gods out back, health worker Htan Pi and her shaman mother are an unlikely double-act in their isolated Myanmar village.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes - CapitalCambodia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With Malaria and tuberculosis screening out front and sacrifices to jungle gods out back, health worker Htan Pi and her shaman mother are an unlikely double-act in their isolated Myanmar village.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CapitalCambodia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/capitalcambodia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-12T18:03:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-15T03:59:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Myanmar-bush-doctor-teaching-about-malaria.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"885\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ayman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CapitalCambodia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CapitalCambodia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ayman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ayman\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c642b689e2b2bbdc3cebc0ad1728bc26\"},\"headline\":\"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-12T18:03:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-15T03:59:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/\"},\"wordCount\":820,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Malaria\",\"Science\",\"shamanism\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/\",\"name\":\"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes - CapitalCambodia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-12T18:03:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-15T03:59:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"With Malaria and tuberculosis screening out front and sacrifices to jungle gods out back, health worker Htan Pi and her shaman mother are an unlikely double-act in their isolated Myanmar village.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/\",\"name\":\"CapitalCambodia\",\"description\":\"business and economy weekly\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Capital Cambodia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Logo2-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Logo2-1.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":128,\"caption\":\"Capital Cambodia\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/capitalcambodia\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CapitalCambodia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c642b689e2b2bbdc3cebc0ad1728bc26\",\"name\":\"Ayman\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes - CapitalCambodia","description":"With Malaria and tuberculosis screening out front and sacrifices to jungle gods out back, health worker Htan Pi and her shaman mother are an unlikely double-act in their isolated Myanmar village.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes - CapitalCambodia","og_description":"With Malaria and tuberculosis screening out front and sacrifices to jungle gods out back, health worker Htan Pi and her shaman mother are an unlikely double-act in their isolated Myanmar village.","og_url":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/","og_site_name":"CapitalCambodia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/capitalcambodia\/","article_published_time":"2020-03-12T18:03:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-15T03:59:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":885,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Myanmar-bush-doctor-teaching-about-malaria.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ayman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@CapitalCambodia","twitter_site":"@CapitalCambodia","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ayman","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/"},"author":{"name":"Ayman","@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c642b689e2b2bbdc3cebc0ad1728bc26"},"headline":"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes","datePublished":"2020-03-12T18:03:18+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-15T03:59:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/"},"wordCount":820,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Malaria","Science","shamanism"],"articleSection":["Lifestyle"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/","url":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/","name":"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes - CapitalCambodia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-03-12T18:03:18+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-15T03:59:39+00:00","description":"With Malaria and tuberculosis screening out front and sacrifices to jungle gods out back, health worker Htan Pi and her shaman mother are an unlikely double-act in their isolated Myanmar village.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/science-and-shamanism-medicine-meets-myanmars-far-flung-naga-tribes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Science and shamanism: Medicine meets Myanmar\u2019s far-flung Naga tribes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/","name":"CapitalCambodia","description":"business and economy weekly","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#organization","name":"Capital Cambodia","url":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Logo2-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Logo2-1.png","width":800,"height":128,"caption":"Capital Cambodia"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/capitalcambodia\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/CapitalCambodia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c642b689e2b2bbdc3cebc0ad1728bc26","name":"Ayman"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3882"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcambodia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}