Netizen Journalist

The Enchanting History of Jamu, A Herbal Drink Believed by Indonesian

Holiday Ayo - Jamu is known as a traditional Indonesian herbal concoction that has been used for generations. It is believed to have nutrition that can improve body health and protect oneself from disease so that it can be used as an alternative treatment.

The tradition of drinking jamu is estimated to have existed since 1300 AD.

The word jamu itself comes from the Old Javanese Djampi which means healing. It is made from herbal plants which are extracted or ground.

Meanwhile, Indonesian people have known herbal medicine since the days of the Mataram Kingdom. Women at that time were already producing herbal medicine and men in charge of finding herbal plants to be processed into herbal medicine.


Photo: crushpixel


Unfortunately, since modern science entered Indonesia, the tradition of drinking herbal medicine began to be abandoned. Many campaigns for certified drugs have started to make people no longer interested in herbal medicine.

However, the tradition of drinking herbal medicine in Indonesia has been popular again since the Japanese colonial era thanks to the establishment of the Indonesian herbal medicine committee.

The use of herbal medicine is believed to have lasted hundreds or even thousands of years since the period of the Hindu-Javanese kingdom.

The reliefs of Borobudur temple which were made in the Hindu-Buddhist Kingdom in 772 AD depict the habit of mixing and drinking jamu to maintain health.

However, at that time, jamu was still used by a limited circle. Until finally, many botanists who publish writings about the variety and benefits of plants for treatment.

Thus, herbs that were previously only owned by a limited group can be enjoyed by all levels of society. Then, jamu made by households began to develop into herbal medicine industries in the early 1900s. Then jamu became very popular in Indonesia, like milk for western society.

The tradition of jame in other countries is basically similar to the tradition of herbal medicine in Indonesia, which is a historical legacy from our ancestors.

However, Indonesia has its own specialties because Indonesia is a fertile place so it is rich in various types of medicinal plants

Jamu has long been known as a health drink from Indonesia which is efficacious in preventing and curing various diseases. Jamu is served with various types, considering that Indonesia has quite a lot of herbal plants.

Each region has a different type of jamu, adapting to the herbal plants that grow in the area. Indonesian people, especially Javanese, have a habit of drinking herbal medicine which is partly made from empon-empon plants, namely kencur and turmeric.

Related Post

Leave a comment