Page 125 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

throughout Indonesia, although the Balinese are the acknowledged experts in

this field. While many Westerners may be sceptical of such matters, foreigners
who have lived in Bali for years do not dismiss any form of magic lightly.
Things happen that defy normal explanation: people become ill or are cured for
no apparent reason.

A DUTCH PRIEST TURNS HEALER

Father Lukman, a young Dutch priest who came to Central Java in 1965, found jamu fascinating and
began studying it seriously. But it was not until 1972 that he began to practise alternative medicine,
which he defines as “healing that has an ancient tradition behind it or has been well proven by
experience”.

Today, Father Lukman’s jamu and diagnostic method are well known. He compares its
complexities to water divining. “First I plot the technical or architectural design of the patient. I use a
metal ball-point or my pectoral cross to detect vibrations from a patient’s body, or more specifically,
from the nerves. This pinpoints the problem and enables me to build up a clear picture of his or her
health.” The technique requires keen sensitivity to body vibrations: “Just as the divining rod or twig
vibrates near water, I use total concentration to project my sensitivity towards the human body so I
can accurately pick up the vibrations it emits.” The priest then translates these vibration levels as a
series of figures into a code that enables him to identify the problem—and to prescribe a cure.
Father Lukman says there is no relation between his system and mysticism. “Everyone knows
that magnetic fields exist: You can have areas of high or low magnetism, and if an imbalance occurs
it can be neutralized.”

Balians, who practice black magic, can plant pins, broken glass or razors in
victims, to be pulled out later by white magicians. Dematerialization is said to be
responsible for this phenomenon: when needles are transformed into energy, they
can penetrate anything. Such occurrences have no scientific explanation,
although the energy theory attracts many supporters.

Interestingly, Indonesians do not distinguish between black and white
magic; they argue the same magic that helps one person usually succeeds at the
expense of another. Professor Parangtopo, from the Physics Department at the