The Village by the Sea - Anita Desai - Examine the significance of the medicine man in chapter 3. How does his character contribute to the theme of 'poverty'?

The children ask for the medicine man because they are unable to afford the medicine needed to help their mother. Instead of providing the medicine they need, the medicine man performs rituals claiming they will purify mother and drive away the demons making her sick. In the end, the medicie man's demands seem outsized compared with his help for Mother.