At that time, the princesses of the kingdom are said to have taken care of their health and beauty. The princesses always looked young and beautiful, and more importantly, they used jamu and other herbal cosmetics. Another historical proof of Jamu can be derived from Kitab Madhawapura, a Jamu recipe book which belonged to the Majapahit Kingdom. The book talked about Acaraki, which means the maker of Jamu.
Another source stated that Jamu was recorded in ancient literature, primbon, dated in the 5th Century. Jamu was also used for healing in the past, as recorded in Karmawipangga relief of Borobudur Temple, Brambang relief of Prambanan Temple – which was built around the 8thor 9th century – as well as at Panataran, Sukuh and Tekalwangi Temples.
The relief at Borobudur Temple showed the making of Jamu for healthcare purposes with massages, and Jamu mix or Saden Saliro. The usage of Jamu and its recipes as traditional medicines was also found at lontar leaves, written in Ancient Javanese, Sanskrit and Balinese language.
Meanwhule, Jamu also attracted international attention. In 19th century, lots of European doctors and scientists faced difficulty against health problems. They then discovered that Jamu was effective. And so in 1829, a German physicist published a book on Jamu. In 1911, a lady from Netherland, Kloppenburg-Versteegh wrote a book about how to make the traditional drink of Indonesia. Another European scientist, Jacobus Bontius, also wrote a composition on Jamu.
In the 20th Century, some people started packaging Jamu in modernformat. Jamu factory started appearing in Java, such as ‘Jamu Iboe’ in 1910 in Surabaya and ‘Jamoe cap Djago’ in 1918 in Semarang.
Currently over 1,024 Jamu companies are registered in Indonesia, producing variety of products, from powder and pills to capsules. They are claimed to be useful for various purposes including body care, healthcare and increasing fitness for healing diseases. The products are also marketed differently, both for local to export purposes. And It is predicted that 80 percent of Indonesians had used the herbal product called Jamu.
Traditional Jamu
Meanwhile traditionally, it is said that there are eight types of Jamu, representing the eight cardinal and intermediate directions; as well as the symbol of the symbolic sun of Majapahit Kingdom, Wilwatikta. The eight types of Jamu are ideally consumed one after another, just like the cycle of human’s life, as elaborated below.
The sweet-sourkunyit asam represents the sweet life during the time when we were a toddler all the way to our teenage time. Beras kencur, through its spicy taste, represents a teenage egoistic side. In a roughly similar concept, the bitter-spicycabe puyang represents the dynamics of our life between the age of 19 and 21. The bitter pahitan then represents the next phase of life which could be bitter but must be gotten over with.
Next, life would stabilize as we find our resolution; and it is represented by kunci suruh, which is a spice for food and has lots of healing nutrients. It symbolizes the success in life, which is brought by what we have been through previously. The next phase is kudu laos, the warm Jamu, which represents the time when we must be the warm and nurturing character for other people.
This is then followed by the bland taste of uyup-uyup or gepyokan, symbolizing the neutral and self-evaluating side of people, as well as an absolute submission to God. Finally, the Jamu phase is the sweetsinom, which represents a human returning to his or her God without asking for anything.
Source : Global Indonesian News
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