The Shaman's Dilemma

The exhilaration that Pa-mi had felt earlier had dissipated. Something was wrong. Something indefinable; it gnawed at his bowels. There was a premonition of—bad fortune—no, danger. Yes, that’s what it was: Danger! At that moment, he felt his foot touch a soft spot in the narrow path, and before he could step back onto firm ground he was slipping on his back down the steep rock-covered slope. Shaman Pa-mi is one of the Kopu, a small tribe nestled in the Yunnan mountains. His people face the threat of losing their traditions when an American missionary family comes to Hsinshao; already the village is divided between those who listen to them and those, like him, who reject them. When Pa-mi plans to ambush a Chinese caravan, he injures himself badly. It will take friendship, communication, and understanding across cultural boundaries for the Kopu and the Americans to save him, and ultimately, when the Communists learn of the missionaries’ presence in Hsinshao, in return to save the entire