Zeenews.com
Kompong Cham, July 31: In rural Cambodia where doctors and hospitals are scarce, poor villagers are turning to a magic elephant which is believed to cure ills ranging from typhoid to high blood pressure.
A few times a month, Yey Proheu, a 70-year-old female elephant d s a round of villages to offer relief to the sick with mahout, Pang Hy, and his assistants.
Blowing a tune from a flute made of a water buffalo horn, Pang Hy, rides the magic elephant through the dusty, unpaved roads to houses of faithful customers.
At many of the houses, the elephant lays her trunk on the stairs or inside the room of the house which are built on stilts, to bless the building and its occupants.
For those with health problems, the elephant puts her trunk into a bucket of water or water tank, and those seeking to be cured, bathe themselves using the water or they walk under the elephant a couple of times.
The mahout's assistant lights incense during the "treatment" and sells herbal infusions which are believed to be a panacea.
"I believe in the medicine, because all the pain is gone after I take it. I sleep well, my appetite is better and so now I am buying more," said 40-year-old Se Vorn, who has a pain in her stomach.
"Now I see the elephant, I believe in her magic. I hope my daughter will be cured. She looks happy after bathing in the water," said 48-year-old Man Morn, who has a sick child.
Man Morn's daughter had had a mysterious fever which went away after an injection by doctors but left her unable to walk. She recovered slightly after bathing in water the elephant had touched and taking the herbal infusions.
The elephant was inherited by 52-year-old Pang Hy, from his father, who was also a mahout of magic elephants.
During the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970's when nearly 1.7 million Cambodians were killed in a genocide, the ultra-Maoists had confiscated the elephant.
Pang Hy was able to get his elephant back eventually, and in 1985, started to sell medicines for a living, which earns him about 50 U.S. dollars a trip and is a good supplement to his farm.
In addition to curing the sick, the elephant is also good at finding auspicious locations for building a house and her magic is effective in solving problems between husband and wives.
"I want a male elephant so that I can breed them, but I can't afford to buy one now," says Pang Hy. "I wish the government can give me some help, then we can have more of these elephants and the next generation of children can see them."
A few times a month, Yey Proheu, a 70-year-old female elephant d s a round of villages to offer relief to the sick with mahout, Pang Hy, and his assistants.
Blowing a tune from a flute made of a water buffalo horn, Pang Hy, rides the magic elephant through the dusty, unpaved roads to houses of faithful customers.
At many of the houses, the elephant lays her trunk on the stairs or inside the room of the house which are built on stilts, to bless the building and its occupants.
For those with health problems, the elephant puts her trunk into a bucket of water or water tank, and those seeking to be cured, bathe themselves using the water or they walk under the elephant a couple of times.
The mahout's assistant lights incense during the "treatment" and sells herbal infusions which are believed to be a panacea.
"I believe in the medicine, because all the pain is gone after I take it. I sleep well, my appetite is better and so now I am buying more," said 40-year-old Se Vorn, who has a pain in her stomach.
"Now I see the elephant, I believe in her magic. I hope my daughter will be cured. She looks happy after bathing in the water," said 48-year-old Man Morn, who has a sick child.
Man Morn's daughter had had a mysterious fever which went away after an injection by doctors but left her unable to walk. She recovered slightly after bathing in water the elephant had touched and taking the herbal infusions.
The elephant was inherited by 52-year-old Pang Hy, from his father, who was also a mahout of magic elephants.
During the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970's when nearly 1.7 million Cambodians were killed in a genocide, the ultra-Maoists had confiscated the elephant.
Pang Hy was able to get his elephant back eventually, and in 1985, started to sell medicines for a living, which earns him about 50 U.S. dollars a trip and is a good supplement to his farm.
In addition to curing the sick, the elephant is also good at finding auspicious locations for building a house and her magic is effective in solving problems between husband and wives.
"I want a male elephant so that I can breed them, but I can't afford to buy one now," says Pang Hy. "I wish the government can give me some help, then we can have more of these elephants and the next generation of children can see them."
1 comment:
don't just walk under the elephant!!. lay flat and let the elephant walk over you...then you'll be cured for good.
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