Page 103 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

CHAPTER 4

Massage: The Power of Touch

MASSAGE IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE INDONESIAN APPROACH TO

INNER AND OUTER HEALTH AND BEAUTY.

Massage is an integral part of the Indonesian approach to inner and outer

health and beauty. Records existing from Ancient Rome to India, and from
Egypt to Indonesia indicate that the curing power of massage has been known
for centuries, even millennia. Some of the first instances of using hands in health
care can be found in records dating back over 15,000 years. Massage in its
various different forms has been documented on papyrus scrolls, old manuscripts
and rock carvings throughout the world, including the famous stone reliefs of
Borobudur, the 8th–9th century Buddhist stupa in Central Java.

It is thought that early medicine relied heavily on massage. Massage
techniques were studied as part of classical Greek medicine, and the laying on of
hands and massage were an important element in early Christian healing, until
the church decided that anything connected with the body was sinful. The erotic
overtones of massage ensured it was one of the first casualties of this new
thinking. It was not until the evolution of what we now call Swedish massage, by
Henri Peter Ling (in Sweden he is known as Per Heinrik Ling), a student at
Stockholm University in the early 1800s, that massage regained respectability in
Europe.

In the East, belief in the healing touch never wavered. During the T’ang
Dynasty, AD 618–907, the Chinese Imperial Medical Bureau had a special
Department of Massage. In 8th-century Japan, the Nara Medical College
included massage courses in its curriculum, while in India, Ayurvedic lymphatic
massage was a permanent feature of family life. Once established, these
techniques flourished—and continue to flourish—in Asia.

Having come under the influence of China, India and Arabia, Indonesians
observed and selected massage techniques and created their own unique style.
Elements of acupressure, pressure point massage, shiatsu and reflexology can be
clearly identified in most Indonesian treatments. Relatively recently, Swedish