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Ask any one of Indonesia’s 200 million inhabitants what they would do if they found themselves
suffering from fatigue or common cough. The answer will invariably be, “Take some Jamu!”
For the uninitiated, Jamu is Indonesia’s unique medicinal culture. Like many of East Asia’s traditional
medicinal traditions, Indonesian Jamu is based on the mixture and manipulation of various herbs to
bring about balance and healing in the human body.
Many proponents of natural healing hold steadfast to the belief that Mother Earth contains all the
necessary ingredients to cure any disease that can beset the human body. With precise knowledge of
herbology, there is practically no need for Western pharmaceutical medicine. Jamu best exemplifies this
statement, as there exists a Jamu herbal remedy for just about any illness and ailment you can think of.
There are numerous other examples of Jamu recorded in Indonesia’s history. A stone inscription dated
to the reign of Prasasti Madhawapura in the Majapahit era (1292-1478AD) makes special mention of a
gifted Jamu herbal medicine healer named Acaraki who created numerous miracle herbal remedies.
Stone reliefs in the temples of Borobudur, Central Java, dated to the 9th century, also depict scenes of
Jamu preparation.
In 1940, the first seminar dedicated to the subject of Jamu was held in Solo, Central Java. This was
followed in 1944 by the formation of Indonesia's first Jamu Committee. Since then, many symposiums
and books have been written on this extensive subject.