Opium legends (An Akha Legend)

            The opium legends of various hill tribes often have similar theme in which opium plants grow from the grave of a young girl, or with a bad smell form the grave of the old woman. There was an old Akha legend about the origin of opium. Along time ago there was a beautiful young girl, she had many suitors. All of seven men impressed her very much. One day seven men came to ask for her hand in marriage. The girl did not want to choose one from among of them for fear of making the other sad and jealous. Therefore, she decided to make love to all of the seven men. Even through, she knew, it would surely cause her death. But she was happy to make this sacrifice. She could endure it no more, she asked for her death and to be reincarnated as a beautiful flower. Before dying she told her relatives to take good care of her grave, on which a beautiful flower would grow up from her heart. She said that whoever tasted the flower’s sap would like it and want more and more, but it would bear good and evil.