 Different types of jamu held in bottles,Solo,Central Java | |
| Type | Traditional Medicine |
|---|---|
| Material | Herbs,Spices |
| Place of origin | Java,Indonesia |
| Jamu wellness culture | |
|---|---|
| Country | Indonesia |
| Reference | 01972 |
| Region | Asia and the Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2023 (18th session) |
| List | Representative |
Jamu (Javanese script:ꦗꦩꦸ) is atraditional medicine fromIndonesia. It is predominantly aherbal medicine made from natural materials, such as roots, bark, flowers, seeds, leaves and fruits.[1] Materials acquired from animals, such ashoney,royal jelly,milk andnative chickeneggs are often used as well.
In 2019, Jamu was officially recognized as one of Indonesia's intangible cultural heritage by theIndonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.[2] Subsequently in December 2023 Jamu wellness culture is officially recognized asUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesia.[3]
Jamu can be found throughout Indonesia; however, it is most prevalent inJava, whereMbok Jamu, the traditionalkainkebaya-wearing young to middle-aged Javanese woman carrying bamboo basket, filled with bottles of jamu on her back, travelling villages and towns alleys, offering her fares of traditional herbal medicine, can be found. In many large cities, jamu herbal medicine is sold on the street by hawkers who carry a refreshing drink, usually bitter but sweetened with honey or palm sugar.
Herbal medicine is also produced in factories by large companies such asAir Mancur,Djamu Djago orSido Muncul, and sold at various drug stores in sachet packaging. Packaged dried jamu should be dissolved in hot water first before drinking. Nowadays, herbal medicine is also sold in the form of tablets, caplets and capsules. These jamu brands are united in an Indonesian Herbal and Traditional Medicine Association, locally known asGabungan Pengusaha Jamu (GP Jamu).[4] Today, jamu is a growing local herbal medicine industry worth millions of dollars. In 2014, jamu contributed Rp 3 trillion (US$73.29 million) to overall sales.[4]
The wordjamu is ofJavanese origin. It derives from the Javanese wordsjawa (ꦗꦮ, "Javanese" or "Java"), andngramu (ꦔꦿꦩꦸ, "mixing" or "gathering" (the ingredients)). It roughly translates to "concoction made by the Javanese" or "concoction originating from Java".
Another theory suggests that the wordjamu is derived from the ancient Javanese termjampi (Aksara Jawa:ꦗꦩ꧀ꦥꦶ, "magic formula"), referring to themantras cast bydukuns (the indigenousshamans) to the potion. It is also believed thatjamu was initially used by dukuns as one of the spiritual requirements forblack magic practices.[5][6]
Despite jamu's popularity throughout Indonesia, it seems that jamu culture is most prevalent inJava. The jamu herbal culture is prevalent inJavanese royal courts ofYogyakarta andSurakarta, where the ancient books on herbal medicine is kept in royal library, and jamu medicine is prescribes to royalties and nobles in Javanesekeratons. According to Javanese tradition, the famed beauty ofputri keraton (princess and palace ladies) is owed to jamu andlulur (traditional lotion).[7]
Sukoharjo inCentral Java, in particular, is believed to be one of the centers of jamu tradition.[8] Many of theMbok Jamu jamu sellers ladies are hailed from this town. The traditional jamu herbal traders in Sukoharjo have established the statue of the jamu seller as Sukoharjo's identity in Bulakrejo. Commonly called "jamu herbal seller statue", it depicts a farmer and ajamu gendong herbalist carrying her wares. Sukoharjo regions, particularly sub-district Nguter,[9] is known as the place of origin ofMbok Jamu gendong herbalist in many big cities, such as Jakarta, Bandung, Bogor, and Surabaya.[10]
Jamu is believed to have originated in theMataram kingdom era,c. 1300 years ago. The stonemortar and pestle with long cylindrical stone mortar — the type commonly used in today's traditional jamu making- was discovered in Liyangan archaeological site on the slopes ofMount Sundoro,Central Java. The site and relics are dated fromMataram kingdom era circa 8th to 10th century, which suggests that the herbal medicine tradition of jamu had already taken hold by then.[11] Thebas-reliefs onBorobudur depict images of people grinding something with stone mortar and pestle, drink sellers, physicians andmasseuse treating their clients.[7] All of these scenes might be interpreted as traditional herbal medicine and health-related treatments in ancient Java. The Madhawapura inscription fromMajapahit period mentioned a specific profession of herb mixer and combiner (herbalist), calledAcaraki.[7] The medicine book fromMataram dated from circa 1700 contains 3,000 entries of jamu recipes, while Javanese classical literatureSerat Centhini (1814) describes some jamu herbal concoction recipes.[7]
Though heavily influenced byAyurveda from India,Indonesia is a vast archipelago with numerous indigenous plants not found in India, and includes plants similar toAustralia beyond theWallace Line. Jamu may vary from region to region, and the recipes are often not written down, especially in remote areas of the country.[12]
Jamu was (and still) practiced as one of the spiritual requirements of the indigenous physicians (dukuns). However, it is generally prepared and prescribed by women who sell it on the streets. Generally, the different jamu prescriptions are not written down but handed down between generations. Some early handbooks, however, have survived.[13] A jamu handbook that was used in households throughout theDutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) was published in 1911 by Mrs. Kloppenburg-Versteegh.[14]
One of the first European physicians to study jamu wasJacobus Bontius (Jacob de Bondt), who was a physician inBatavia (present-dayJakarta) in the early seventeenth century. His writings contain information about indigenous medicine ofJava.[15] A comprehensive book on indigenous herbal medicine in theDutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) was published byRumphius, who worked inAmbon during early eighteenth century. He published a book calledHerbaria Amboinesis (The Ambonese Spice Book).[16] During the nineteenth century, European physicians had a keen interest in jamu, as they often did not know how to treat the diseases they encountered in their patients in theDutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). The German physician Carl Waitz published on jamu in 1829.[17] In the 1880s and 1890s, A.G. Vorderman published extensive accounts on jamu as well. Pharmacological research on herbal medicine was undertaken by M. Greshoff and W.G. Boorsma at the pharmacological laboratory at theBogor Botanical Garden[18]
Indonesianphysicians were initially not very interested in jamu. During the second conference of the Indonesian Association of Physicians, held in Solo in March 1940, two presentations on the topic were given. During the Japanese occupation, Indonesia'sJamu Committee was formed in 1944. During the following decades, the popularity of jamu increased, although physicians had rather ambivalent opinions about it.[19]
Indonesia—home to highly diversified herbs products—expects domestic sales of herbal and traditional medicine, includingfood supplements and cosmetics, to expand by 15 percent by 2014 to Rp 15 trillion (US$1.23 billion) compared to 2013, due to its increasingly health-conscious middle-income bracket, according to the Indonesian Herbal and Traditional Medicine Association (Gabungan Pengusaha Jamu/GP Jamu). Jamu contributes Rp 3 trillion (US$73.29 million) to overall sales.[4]
Several Indonesian leading figures are known as the endorser of jamu herbal products, including former first ladyTien Soeharto, business figuresMooryati Soedibyo andJaya Suprana, and PresidentJoko Widodo.[1] Joko admitted that he had consumed the herbal medicine, locally known astemulawak jahe (the mixture ofginger andcurcuma) for 17 years which he believed has helped him in his daily activities as well as to repair the liver and digestive functions.[1]
The 2025Netflix filmAbadi nan Jaya (The Elixir) centers around azombie outbreak caused byjamu intended to reverse aging.[20]
Jamu is often distributed in the form of powder, pills, capsules, and drinking liquid. Jamu shops, which sell only ingredients or prepare the jamu on the spot as required by buyers, as well as women roaming the street to sell jamu, are common ways to distribute jamu in Indonesia. Nowadays, jamu is also mass-manufactured and exported. There are often concerns about quality, consistency, and cleanliness, not only in the locally distributed but also the manufactured forms.
There are a few quasi-health-related uses for jamu, for example, curiously promoted to enhance sexual pleasure, but also traditionally manage post childbirth trauma. There are kinds of jamu to increase sexual stamina for men, as well as others to tighten the vagina for women (with names likeSari Rapat ("Essence of Tightness"),Rapat Wangi ("Tight and Fragrant"), and evenEmpot Ayam ("Tight as a Chicken's Anus").[21] Some exported to far as Kenya under namesTongkat ajimat madura, ormadura sticks.
There are hundreds of herbs for jamu prescriptions; some are:
Non-herbal materials acquired fromanimals are also often used in jamu mixture. Among others are:
Under IndonesianFood and Drug Authority (BPOM) regulations, jamu (and other herbal medication) products may not contain any pharmaceutical drug ingredients (Indonesian:bahan kimia obat, BKO), whether originating from an over-the-counter or a prescription-only substance.[22] The BPOM regularly seizes such illegal products, mostly towards jamu marketed for sexual health, which may contain active ingredients in erectile dysfunction drugs such assildenafil ortadalafil, as well those marketed for sore muscles (pegal linu), which may contain eitherNSAIDs such asdiclofenac ormeloxicam, or the over-the-counter analgesicparacetamol.[22][23][24]
Reports of adulterated jamu products have also been reported outside Indonesia by international health authorities. One example, Tawon Liar, was found to contain hidden drug ingredients (namely the NSAIDs meloxicam andketorolac, as well as a corticosteroid indexamethasone) by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration,[25] while another such product, Montalin, was found to containpiroxicam and paracetamol according toHealth Sciences Authority of Singapore andSaudi Food and Drug Authority.[26][27]
