The Khon Muang, or 'People of the Principalities; inhabit the hills and valleys of Northern Thailand - formerly known as Lanna, or the 'Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields.' In times past the people of the north spoke a different language to the central Thais. They dressed differently, women wore their hair long in contrast to the men covered their bodies with intricate tattoos to ward of sickness and injury in the times of war. The Golden Age of the Lanna Kingdom was in the 13th-15th centuries, when Chiang Mai, the region's capital, treated on equal terms with Siam, Burma, Laos, and even distant Sri Lanka. Then came Burmese Conquest, Siamese invasion, and subsequent cultural domination by Bangkok. In recent years, however, amid signs of a general cultural rebirth, the Khon Muang have strated to rediscover their past.

Embracing a radical balance between myths illusory and functional status these eight outstanding essays, from leading academics, deconstruct problems of rationality, imagination and narrative to trace the influence of myth in our own beliefs.

"Seven Peppercorns" covers the vast scope of traditional Thai medicine practices including: Thai element theory, physical therapies, medical Buddhism, herbal medicine for massage, divinatory practices, and spirit medicine; all held within the context of a Thai bodyworker’s instructional manual. This is not another step-by-step Thai massage photographic sequence book, but rather an in-depth training in the theory behind the steps, with instruction in a wide range of esoteric Thai physical therapies designed to bring practical understanding of Thai bodywork as it is practiced by traditional doctors in Thailand. "Seven Peppercorns" is divided into twelve main segments; each segment containing several chapters. The organizational flow takes the reader from introduction, overview and history, through an understanding of Thai anatomy, including element, point, and sen line theory, to instruction in Thai diagnosis, actual physical manipulations and practical application of the shamanistic and Buddhist components of traditional Thai medicine as it applies to bodywork; all in an easy-to-follow well organized format. Included in this guide are Thai self care practices and exercises as well as treatment guidelines for specific disorders. "Seven Peppercorns" serves as both an instruction manual and a reference book fully annotated with appendixes, notes, glossary, bibliography and index. The straightforward academic informational writing is gentled with moments of conversational author-to-reader comments (often humorous), and peppered with short personal narrative stories that bring the reader into the sensory tapestry of Thailand. It is intended as a stand alone manual, or as a text book for Thai massage instructors to use in classes.