Page 129 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

backup. Without the appropriate ritual, a victim could not recover.

In preventing disturbances from an evil spirit, people believe the answer
lies in pictures or writing in Arabic, Balinese or Javanese script. Such antidotes
are normally hung on the upper part of a doorway or in places that are thought to
be haunted. Many Balinese healers either go into a self-induced trance to speak
on behalf of dead ancestors, or put their patients into a state of trance. They then
pinpoint the cause of a particular sickness or difficulty with remarkable
accuracy. These healers tend to specialize in one particular field: there are
herbalists, midwives, pædiatricians, and soothsayers as well as bone and
stomach ache experts. Patients, including Westerners, who have experienced
Balinese healing will openly attest to the success of their methods.

There are numerous ceremonies designed to wipe out a potential threat, a
real threat or to expiate a wrong. Designed for every level of society, and
portrayed in symbolic terms similar to the Christian use of parables, they usually
involve purification of some nature. For example, the central character in a story
could take the form of a vicious animal, a vengeful god or more often a wicked
giant, all of which were terrifying to people who had few means of combating
epidemics or understanding the root cause of a disease.

THE MYSTICAL SIDE OF JAMU

Dutch-born Laurentia was only seven or eight years old when she started to see and hear things.
During World War II, a presentiment made her refuse to enter an air raid shelter which, minutes later,
was hit, leaving a handful of survivors. Her premonition had saved her life.
In her late teens, Laurentia realized her gift was increasing each day. It was then she
encountered Madame Hebbelard, a famous healer who used Dutch herbs and also had a sixth sense.