This week I spent time with the Kaur tribe in Kabupaten. To protect my participants, I cannot say which village. My original research had 3 foci–1. Defining the plants/animals indigenous healers use for healing. 2. Determining indigenous healers’ knowledge of conservation issues related to the plants/animals they collect. 3. Explaining how the healers influence conservation of the plants/animals in their community.

This time I added a 4th focus: Corona (They do not call it Covid.) A. What do they know about Corona? B. How do they treat it? Thought I would share with you what I found this week. I interviewed 5 healers. Below is a picture of one of the healers. He is my favorite from this group. All of them were great, but there was something about how he sat in his chair, talked, and held his cigarette that I found seductive. Not in a sexual way. He had an elegant magnetism that drew me into him. His skin is creamy brown. His hands are worn into wrinkles. Though his cigarette was not in a long, slender holder, he reminded of the allure of Audrey Hepburn. I tried to capture this in my photographs.

OK. Back to Corona. In general, the healers do not understand Corona. One emphatically said he did not know anything about Corona. The others may know the term, but believe it never existed. They said it came from the mountains on the wind. One explained that Corona is a new name for what has always been around. They treated the headaches, fevers, and breathing issues the same as they did before. No change in their healing practices, because the symptoms did not change. This makes sense to me. If you were not told Corona existed (like our media bombards us with information), you would see Corona as some of its symptoms–headache, breathing difficulty, and fever.

Imagine you do not have access to the media we have. One healer’s son was sick and went to a big hospital in Jakarta, Java Island (the main island). His son died at the hospital. So, if A + B = C. Then the healer reasons that because his son left (A) and was not treated at home (B) he died (C). They see no logic in going to the hospital if they have a headache, breathing difficulty, and fever. They just treat these as usual. I feel like somewhere in this is a sanity we may not understand.

Sunset Beach and a Place to Live

The Kaur region is in the southern most part of Sumatra on the coast. Visited Sunset Beach–nothing like the one in North Carolina. Had lunch and fed the chickens. I wish the photographs and video could capture the beauty of the water. It is so blue. My favorite picture is the chicken!

I want one of these at my next house!! Made out of wood off the beach. I want to pack it up and take it home with me.

My place to stay this week. View of the beach at the end of the street. I played with the kids–so cute. They were finding things in the yard to line up in a game they were playing. I gave them my door key from the Orient Hotel where I stayed in Jakarta. One little girl picked it up and would not let the other girls play with it. Kids are the same no matter where you are!