Page 146 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

for health and beauty, but their underlying purpose was to preserve family unity

(it was believed that if the woman was beautiful and took care of herself, the
man would not stray!).

Jamu Throughout a Woman’s Life Cycle

Javanese women are introduced to jamu right from birth, but the first real lesson
comes when a girl begins menstruating. To give their blessing, her female
relatives and friends sprinkle her with perfumed water. They are then served
with special food. The girl is given Jamu Gadis (virgin jamu). This is made with
a little earth she picks up from the garden with three fingers and adds to the
ingredients, which are then steamed. The ceremony symbolizes the girl’s entry
into womanhood, her physical and spiritual fertility, future resilience to and
recovery from the rigours of menstruation and childbirth, and her eternal love for
family and friends.

Her next serious encounter with jamu is when she prepares for her wedding.
At one time a bride-to-be was confined to her bedroom 40 days before the event,
fed a carefully balanced diet, and given lulur daily, because she was required to
be her most beautiful on her wedding day. Traditionally, a new bride was judged
by her husband and the community on her herbal medicine skills and ability to
care for her family. Jamu-making was thus essential and also determined how
well she kept her looks and her husband. Even now, the day before the wedding,
the woman takes a perfumed steam bath so that she will have a fresh and cool
body, velvety skin and sweet breath. As a final touch, she drinks a draught of a
special jamu, concocted to heighten desire. These days, this is often Jamu
Kamajaya Kamaratih, made by Mustika Ratu and named after a famous loving

couple in the shadow puppet theatre.