Page 132 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

The rural picker is a key component in the jamu making chain. He may supply his herbs dried, as here, or in
raw form.

CURING BY CORRESPONDENCE

Father Lukman, a Dutch priest who combines healing souls with helping the physically sick through
his own personal herbal medicine system, has a pragmatic approach to life and his work (see page
117). “I remember one patient with rheumatoid arthritis who was given up as a hopeless case by the
doctors,” he says. “He tried Dutch jamu which didn’t work, then came to me.” Father Lukman
prescribed some jamu and sent him on his way. A short while later he received a letter from the
patient in Holland requesting a repeat order. He wrote: “Please send more of the jamu quickly, I am
starting to walk again.” “His doctors were dumbfounded,” says Father Lukman. “They couldn’t
believe it. This is why I always invite the medical profession to my practice to see for themselves.”
Another patient that Father Lukman treated was a young pregnant mother who, instead of
gaining weight, was losing it rapidly through continuous vomiting. Both her own doctor and he
agreed she must weigh 50 kg (110 lbs) prior to delivery. He managed to find a formula that arrested
the vomiting and encouraged her body to put on weight. Just as she topped the scales at 50 kg, she
delivered a healthy child.
All Father Lukman’s jamu is registered with the Department of Health and has been subjected
to their tests. It is “totally free of chemicals, 100 per cent natural and hygienic”. He regrets, however,
that much of his jamu cannot be scientifically proven as the components are not known to Western
science—a problem shared by many of the country’s leading healers.

Most jamu companies purchase raw materials from a mixture of individual
and medium-sized growers, or a large collector who can guarantee bulk supplies.
Air Mancur, for instance, employ their own collector to source raw materials
directly from the villages. Others compromise by buying a small piece of land on
which to grow plants that are rare or in short supply, and then buy the remainder
outside. For even if they own a plantation, it is almost impossible for factories to
grow the diverse range of ingredients they need cost effectively.

The Jamu Gendong
Without doubt, Central Java is the acknowledged home of Indonesian jamu and
jamu sellers— jamu gendong. Indeed, most jamu sellers or their families
originally hailed from the Solo or Yogyakarta area, even though they work all
over the country nowadays. Owing to the palace influence, women from this
region are said to be highly skilled in making herbal medicine and beauty
preparations. Although jamu is almost exclusively the province of women, a
small number of men also sell herbal tonics on the streets. Their recipes are
restricted to those for general health as a discussion of female problems between
a male seller and a female client would be embarrassing.