Page 168 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

A good jamu shop in a city market will carry a huge stock of factory-made

pills and powders, which, along with its own jamu, are briskly sold in the course
of the day. Many jamu retailers are from Central Java and have been immersed
in the jamu culture since birth; others learn from experience acquired on the job.
Most know their business thoroughly and hand out good advice.
Markets are the main source of jamu raw materials and the one at Jalan
Pintu Besar in Jakarta’s Chinatown is by far the largest supplier to the trade.
Although Central Java is considered the heart of the industry, this huge market is
regarded as a wholesaler to many small jamu producers all over the country.
Jakarta’s prosaically-named Blok A is typical of the busy, city markets. Inside
the building it is hot, stuffy and overcrowded day long. Stalls are numbered but
are always referred to by the owner’s name, and have different opening and

closing hours, though most retailers are open between 10 am and 4 pm. It is hard
to gauge exactly which products sell best, but the jamu seller has a
comprehensive range of pre-packed cures for all but the most severe or rare
illnesses. Nyonya Meneer, Cap Jago, Simona: all the big names are stocked.
Most stores pack maximum products into minimum space. Some vendors
can even make up jamu for clients using formulæ which comprise 35 different
spices while the range of raw materials necessary may be even wider. A good
jamu seller may also supply local jamu gendong with their basic materials,

which are then taken home and used in their own preparations. As with jamu
gendong, service in the markets is friendly and personal and the sellers are well-
informed— something that people prefer when discussing their health.

A HIGH PROFILE BUSINESS WOMAN

Martha Tilaar was born in Kebumen, Central Java, to a family of wealthy landowners whose
business interests ranged from beef and butcheries to dairy farming and dairies. Such privileged
circumstances ought to have been the basis of a happy childhood but Martha Tilaar’s early years
were not story-book perfect.
“I was always considered the black swan of the family. My brother and sister were fair while I
was dark. My features were totally different too—I didn’t look like any of them.” Martha responded
by ignoring anything to do with her looks. Instead, she became known for her tomboy attitude and
rebellious behaviour.
After she finished school, Martha went to a teacher training college in Jakarta, which was over
550 km (300 miles) from home. But at the start of her first teaching job, her mother intervened, intent
on improving her daughter’s appearance. She took the girl to the home of a friend who was a
beautician, for a consultation that was to change not only the young woman’s attitudes but also her
future. “Until that moment, I didn’t care about beauty at all,” she said. “But when I was shown what
to do and saw the difference a few professional touches made, I was convinced.” Thus, from
shunning beauty treatments and cosmetics, Martha became an aficionado.