A Lua Tribe Legend on the Origin of Tobacco and Opium

If there is a reason I keep going into museums after museum no matter how small or crappy it looked like, it would be for reason like these where I sometime stumble onto the local stories or myths. In a way I am a story collector despite my poor memory, stories fascinates me and throughout the years I traveled, I have learn to listen and just listen. ( Or in this case ... read )

Extract taken from 212 House of Opium - Golden Triangle Thailand

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A long time ago a very elderly women died of old age

Before she died she asked that she be buried near a busy crossroad 

After her funeral two tobacco plant appeared on the grave above the women's breast 

and an opium plant grew above her loins 

The villagers saw these strange plants and tasted them 

henceforth liking the tobacco more than opium, they therefore planted it and smoked it 

this preference for tobacco was because it came from the old women breast and thus children when weaned of milk smoked tobacco instead 

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