First-timers would be advised to enlist the aid of either a jamu seller or a herbalist, or simply take the remedies rather than try to make them.
For instance, sugar is an important base ingredient in many healing recipes. Indonesian jamu is made from three types of sugar. gula batu (rock sugar; Saccharum officinarum) is refined white sugar. gula Jawa or gula merah (coconut sugar; cocos nucifera) is made from the sap of young coconut trees and cooked at high temperatures to produce its brown colour. The syrup is left to cool and harden in empty coconut shells and assumes the discus-like shape. The third variety, gula Aren (palm sugar), is the queen of sugars, made from the pure sap of a young Aren tree (Arenga pinnata). Its colour changes from white to brown during cooking and the solid sugar is shaped into small cylinders before it reaches shops and market stalls. This sugar is the most expensive of the three, but many women refuse to settle for anything less, for they say the cheaper types of sugar affect the taste and quality of their jamu. This criticism is sometimes levelled at jamu gendong (herbal tonic street sellers) who often substitute a factory-made synthetic similar to saccharin, which is said to cause coughs.
More problems may arise for the jamu novice with the simplification of common names in Indonesia. For example, the ingredients manis jangan, kayu manis and kayu legi all translate into English as ‘sweet wood’ but each is different botanically. Kayu manis (cinnamomum zeylanicum) and manis jangan (cinnamomum burmanii) are respectively the Indonesian and Javanese names for the sweet-tasting wood we know in the West as cinnamon: both are used in jamu. However, kayu legi is Javanese for a sweet bark that has no flavour, is brown outside, white in the centre and is used for general cooking (Chinese liquorice; glycyrrhiza glabra).
Fresh Jamu
Many Indonesians will drink jamu only in the form of finely chopped herbs, or powder mixed with water, because these are deemed closest to the natural herbal state and therefore more effective. For these adepts, traditional medicine in a pre-packed, ready-to-swallow form holds no attraction. They put up with the inconvenience of making these mixtures and accept their often bitter, unpalatable taste. The reluctant jamu taker will find that adding a pinch of salt to the glass lessens the shock to the tastebuds. A slice of lemon or a little honey is also recommended. Sieving the jamu through muslin gets rid of the indigestible, floating remains. A seasoned jamu drinker will down a glass in one, which reduces exposure to the, frankly, often disgusting taste. Eating a piece of fruit, especially a banana or papaya, is suggested to remove the aftertaste. Fresh and natural are the key words in these preparations.
Commercial growth, however, has meant these old ways are not always practical, especially for city dwellers. To meet the demands of the urban market, larger producers process over 700 tons of ingredients into jamu pills and capsules each month. Modern manufacturing methods enable factories to produce sufficient quantities to make export a possibility. And while reluctance by the old school to share health and beauty secrets with outsiders hampered the industry in its infancy, this problem has now been overcome by the pressures of an expanding economy. The lure of overseas markets is proving stronger than the mysticism that once surrounded jamu. If the end product has a longer shelf life, the horizons for export are limitless.
A GLOSSARY OF COMMON INDONESIAN TERMS
| air • water | kampung • village |
| arang • charcoal | kraton • palace |
| Bapak (or Pak) • polite form of address for an elder man | minyak • oil |
| nasi • cooked rice | |
| daun • leaf | obat • medicine |
| dukun • healer/traditional doctor | pasar • market |
| gula • sugar | pisang • banana |
| Ibu (or Bu) • polite form of address for a woman | pilis • compress |
| jamu gendong • jamu seller | toko • shop |
Choosing and Drinking Jamu
Whatever one’s needs, jamu can almost certainly supply an answer, but it may require experimentation to find the right manufacturer. Pegal Linu, for instance, concocted by one manufacturer to counteract rheumatism and tiredness, may make no difference to symptoms, whilst the same medicine produced by another company could bring instant relief. Experimentation with products from different companies is often necessary. Furthermore, manufacturers warn that jamu works slowly, on the basis of the body’s self-healing capabilities, and it may take up to two months before results are noticed.
Then there is the problem of how to take the potion. Jamu is steeped in folklore that is respected but rarely explained. For example, why is jamu drunk standing up straight with one’s big toes crossed? Few people know the answer: most can only reply that it is tradition. Yet they still do it! One school of thought insists that jamu must be drunk facing the sun. This accords with the principles relating to spiritual energy, where the sun is a symbol of light and divine power, representing the oneness of everything. On a more pragmatic level, the sun warms the body, automatically relaxing the muscles and enabling the body’s systems to absorb the herbs more efficiently.
Herbalists warn never to drink jamu with alcohol because the latter dissolves the jamu, thus cancelling out its benefits. Furthermore, freshly ground roots and powders may sink to the bottom of a glass and end up being washed down the sink: the solution is to stir and drink the mixture immediately. To make jamu more potent, some advise whisking in a fresh chicken or quail egg (but not duck or turtle eggs). This is a popular addition to many powdered jamu and is normally mixed into Jamu Cabe Puyang (an abbreviation of cabe jawa, the fruit of piper retrofractum, a type of pepper, and lempuyang pahit, the rhizome of the bitter ginger, zingiber amaricans). Jamu Cabe Puyang is often prescribed for people who are run down.
The right jamu gendong or seller is the best route to successful jamu taking. It is expected that the jamu gendong will pose a number of questions to ascertain whether an ailment might be related to other complaints, due to pregnancy, vaccinations, and so on, and therefore will have a better idea which jamu is most suitable. A lack of experience can lead to the wrong mixture which, not surprisingly, will not work.
Rituals that Govern Jamu
As with many traditions, jamu has its fair share of superstitions that must be addressed to eliminate potential dangers or to ensure the he aling properties of the medicine. Many of these beliefs stem from practical considerations: some are long since lost, others are easier to recognize. It is not just a question of adding an extra ingredient or the angle you face when taking a potion: it is what might happen if you do not. For instance, it is believed that if a woman breaks her grinding stone, disaster will befall her household. To prevent this, she must then walk around the house, naked, seven times. For the Javanese household, jamu is vital and if a wife breaks her tools, there is no way to protect against ills. Likewise, no self-respecting housewife will leave her pestle and mortar on the doorstep because her husband, coming home after a day’s work in the rice fields, could trip over it, break his neck and be unable to support his family.
Another superstition states that quantities of an ingredient have to be twice “the number of the day when born”. This presents an unusual problem nowadays as the Javanese calendar is based on the five-day week. The normal seven-day week is made to fit into this
