Page 134 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

headaches, backache or simply fatigue.” To keep himself going, Pak Agus swears by a special salad.

“My wife prepares finely sliced kencur leaves,” he related. “One green chilli, garlic, a little
ginger, brown Javanese sugar and salt. I eat it nearly every day. It’s served on rice and tastes
delicious.”

On her daily rounds, the jamu gendong usually carries four or five popular
jamu that maintain or improve health and strength. These jamu are always
preventative, rather than curative; she may also have special orders for expensive
recipes that are not part of normal stock. gendong also carry factory-made
powders for more serious complaints, as well as honey and raw eggs to mask
foul taste or to increase the effectiveness of certain jamu.

The itinerant sellers are always well groomed: a smart appearance is good
for business. They still wear the elegant full Javanese dress, comprising a
tightly-fitting, batik sarong skirt and blouse or kebaya. However, they are
definitely a dying breed. The older generation often fell into the job because they
had little, or no, schooling, and jamu was a last resort. For their children, who
have the benefit of some education, life as a vendor is hardly an option. This,
coupled with the fact that commercially produced jamu is now widely available,

means the future of this unique profession is not certain.

JAMU FOR DIABETES

The story of Podosalametee—a jamu formulated by Dr Raden Mas Abdulkadir, a member of a high
ranking family in Central Java—began in the late 1800s. Dr Abdulkadir had a reputation for being
headstrong and rebellious, but he was a fine doctor and travelled widely for the Dutch Government
Medical Corps, marrying a much younger woman who accompanied him on his career postings.
Through his work Dr Abdulkadir was exposed to a wide variety of plants, patients and diseases. He
had ample opportunity to explore herbal alternatives and when Western medicine failed he never
hesitated to prescribe traditional treatment. Highly respected, his combination of orthodox and herbal
medicine produced results.