Tukang Jamu

For some time now, I’ve been noticing women walking around the city carrying large bottles of liquids in a basket on their back. After querying our drivers, I’ve finally learned that these women are called tukang jamu. A quick google translate tells me that “tukang” means artisan or handyman and “jamu” means traditional herbal medicine.  So basically tukang jamu are women (or men) who make and sell medicine (I’m using that word loosely). What little I know about them comes from our Indonesian acquaintances and what I’ve been able to learn about them through….you guessed it….google.

I’ve been wanting to take photos of them for some time now, but it’s a real challenge to take decent photographs through the window of a moving car and I rarely have my camera ready when I do spot one walking down a busy street. However, this morning we were out earlier than usual and I discovered that there are plenty of them out early in the day, peddling their brew to anyone who has the money and is willing to drink it. Most of the tukang jamu I’ve seen are middle aged women and they are on foot. They use a sarong-like tie to carry the basket filled with heavy bottles on their backs as they walk up and down busy streets looking for customers. Our driver tells me that men and younger people also sell jamu, but most of them carry their potions in make shift racks on the back of a bicycle.

So what are these nasty looking concoctions they carry, and who on earth would drink them? Apparently, a lot of Indonesians will and do, our language teacher and driver being among them. One of the first questions I asked them was what it tasted like. Both admitted they are not delicious (surprise!) and are in general somewhat bitter tasting. I also asked them what they are used for and they pretty much indicated “good health”. Oh, and besides being “good for health” they will “make you strong.” From what I’ve been able to gather, there are 2 types of jamu – one type taken as more of a preventative or for overall good health, the other type being for specific illnesses. So that pretty much covers everyone.

The Indonesians believe that in addition to curing various illnesses, special jamus can even help “maintain loving family harmony.” Hmm. Of course there are recipes that improve the sex life and make you strong (if you’re a man). And there are special recipes for pregnancy and beyond. Oh, and don’t forget the babies – there are special mixes for them as well.

How much do these cure-alls cost, you may be wondering? I asked both my driver and language teacher and they replied anywhere from 1,000-3,000 rph (roughly a dime to thirty cents) per “treatment.” Well, at least the price is right!

Apparently the different concoctions are made from spices, leaves, fruits, roots, flowers or barks. Some of these ingredients can be bought at jamu shops while others are collected locally. They can either be consumed as liquids or rubbed on the skin, depending on what they are being used for. The traditional method of making jamu requires boiling the herbal ingredients. Sometimes mortars, graters and clay pots are used in their preparation as well.

Some of the ingredients used in making jamu are ginger, turmeric, different kinds of leaves, lime, cinnamon, jasmine, alang-alang grass and a whole long list of stuff I’ve never even heard of. There are literally hundreds of herbs used in making jamu "prescriptions."

In addition to aiding health and curing whatever ails you, jamu is readily available, cheap and has no side effects! I also read that some jamu factories in Java are exporting their products and that 25 different herbal plants and ingredients are being exported to Europe, Australia, Japan and the US. So if the cost of medical care in the US continues to rise, perhaps we’ll need to look more seriously into jamu. (I don’t think so….)

Since I don’t have any plans to meet a tukang jamu up close and personal, I found this little youtube video that I suspect is pretty close to what I would encounter if I did.