Jamu
(formerly Djamu) is traditional medicine in Indonesia.
It is predominantly herbal medicine made from natural materials, such as parts of
plants such as roots, bark, flowers, seeds, leaves and fruits. Materials
acquired from animals, such as honey, milk,
Ayam Kampung
eggs
and goat's bile, are also often used.
Jamu
can be found throughout Indonesia, however it is most prevalent in Java, where Mbok Jamu,
the traditional kain
kebaya-wearing
young to middle-aged Javanese woman carrying bamboo basket filled with bottles
of jamu on her back, travelling villages and towns alleys, offering her fares
of traditional herbal medicine. In many large cities jamu herbal medicine is
sold on the street by hawkers carry a refreshing drink, usually bitter but
sweetened with honey or palm sugar. The traditional method on carrying the jamu
in basket is called Jamu Gendong (lit. carried jamu), however today some
jamu seller might ride bicycle. There is also modest street-side warung tent
stall that specializing on selling jamus. Herbal medicine is also produced in
factories by large companies such as Air Mancur, Nyonya Meneer or
Djamu Djago, and sold at various drug stores in sachet packaging.
Packaged dried jamu should be dissolved in hot water first before drinking.
Nowadays herbal medicine is also sold in the form of tablets, caplets and
capsules.
Jamu
sellers in Yogyakarta,
ca. 1910. It is claimed to have originated in the Mataram
Kingdom some 1300 years ago. Though heavily influenced by
Ayurveda
from India, Indonesia is a vast archipelago with numerous indigenous plants not
found in India, and include plants similar to Australia
beyond the Wallace Line. Jamu may vary from region to
region, and often not written down, especially in remote areas of the country.
Jamu was (and is)
practiced by indigenous physicians (dukuns). However, it is generally prepared and prescribed by
women, who sell it on the streets. Generally, the different jamu prescriptions
are not written down but handed down between the generations. Some early
handbooks, however, have survived. A jamu handbook that was used in households
throughout the Indies was published in 1911 by Mrs. Kloppenburg-Versteegh.
One
of the first European physicians to study jamu was Jacobus
Bontius (Jacob de Bondt), who was a physician in Batavia (today's
Jakarta) in the early seventeenth century. His writings contain information
about indigenous medicine. A comprehensive book on indigenous herbal medicine
in the Indies was published by Rumphius, who worked on Ambon during the early eighteenth
century. He published a book called Herbaria Amboinesis (The Ambonese Spice
Book). During the nineteenth
century, European physicians had a keen interest in jamu, as they often did not
know how to treat the diseases they encountered in their patients in the
Indies. The German physician Carl Waitz published on jamu in 1829.[7]
In the 1880s and 1890s, A.G. Vorderman published extensive accounts on jamu as
well. Pharmacological research on herbal medicine was undertaken by M. Greshoff
and W.G. Boorsma at the pharmacological laboratory at the Bogor Botanical Garden
No comments:
Post a Comment