Self-Preservation: Why I'm Making Jamu
Letting you in on the gossip I've been sharing with my ancestors
Writing this piece has helped me give words to my devotion to Jamu. This project began as a personal discovery, reconnection to heritage, speaking with my ancestors… and now I have a product - Hen Herbal.
As I translate this project into Hen Herbal, it’s integral to keep reflecting and keep connected to the values and intention that I started with.
Facing Motherland Vortex
When I turned 30 last year, I felt an undeniable magnetic pull toward my matrilineal Indonesian heritage. For months I resisted because I was scared - what if my extended family don’t like me, what if I’m not Indonesian enough, what if I spend all my money…
Friends encouraged me, healers told me it’s my next step. Accepting it must just be the time, I took the leap and booked a solo ticket. I love travelling alone, but I never had to Indonesia even though it’s my identity, my ancestors. I wanted to challenge myself without the benefit of having a translator (my mum) or relying on her connecions.
On this trip I missed connecting flights, moved without places without any network for translation, and felt constantly on edge if I’d be received as local or foreigner (I’m half Indonesian, half Irish and raised in Australia) - being accepted there has been really important to me. I felt like I was in a hot loaded washing machine with everything I thought I knew.
This trip helped me understand myself like no other experience had, and everyone that knew me was right… it was an integral step in my healing.
Finding Jamu
I had taken Jamu growing up but I didn’t really understand it until I came across traditional jamu gendong (jamu vendor) at the pasar (open air market) on this trip - video below.
Oma (grandma) is an elder, carrying a large woven basket full of plastic bottles in different shades. This is very traditional. She’s likely been making this all her life. I’ll visit her again in November later this year.
The functional liquids are opaque, with viscosity of homemade nut milk, and this encounter told me so much about how they are made - I thought these were juiced like how I’ve seen them commercially. I couldn’t imagine Oma with a commercial juicer!
What Jamu Is
Jamu is a category of traditional Indonesian medicine rooted in wellness and vitality. There is no single recipe of Jamu, it is a cultural practice with infinite variations on and off the record.
It is hard to find records of recipes beyond ‘kunyit asam’ (translating to ‘turmeric and sour’) online or in books, and because Jamu is more of a concept than product, there are thousands of variations waiting to be discovered from the next Tante (auntie) I meet.
The word Jamu has many translations:
“Herbal”
“Concoction made by the Javanese”
A blend of the Javanese words "jawa" (Java) and "ngramu" (mixing)
Another theory from the ancient Javanese term jampi (ꦗꦩ꧀ꦥꦶ), meaning “magic formula”
The Jamu economy has always been exclusively female, and from a western perspective it is pretty hardcore and hands on.
Herbs should be ground using mortar and pestle each morning before the crack of dawn in time for morning consumption. That’s hard and unglamorous work in modern urban society.
Vendors still sell on foot or by motorbike, depending on where they live, and carry their medicinal tonics from customer to customer.
Jamu Is Punk
I’ve always thought herbalism is kind of punk. It’s against the grain, it’s DIY, it rejects the polished wellness world, it’s anti-establishment and unfiltered.
Since that trip, I have become tethered to an ongoing cosmic conversation with my ancestors.
The understanding of Jamu has become a life long commitment and I am here for it.
Jamu Outside of Indonesia
Jamu is available in Australia with some great established brands and you can usually find it at the farmers market, but I’ve never been interested in purchasing it outside of Indonesia.
The inclusion of sweeteners, vinegars, chilli and fruit juices never felt quite right - and now I know they’re not, as Jamu is based on functional herbs and those ingredients are used to dilute expensive rhizomes (ginger, turmeric)
I notice some nods to tradition are included in marketing material but full recognition has never really been given
Branding language like ‘feel bloody awesome’ plastered on the bottle felt awkward and misaligned to me
I’d notice that the percentage of functional ingredients - importantly ginger and turmeric - were towards the end of the list, and it was never quite clear if these were from inferior powdered spices or actually blended from whole ingredients
I wanted organic but couldn’t find it, knowing that the Australian organic market has availability
Jamu is just another countless example of a traditional wellness practices that has been co-opted and commercialized without real reverence to source.
Jamu is Ancient & Forever
Jamu is over 1000 years old yet it still makes sense in a modern urban context.
The 4th King of the Majapahit Kingdom (ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀g), the Javanese Buddhist-Hindu empire in South East Asia based in the island of Java, wrote in the text ‘Kutaramanawa’, explaining that the practice of healing cannot be carried out by just anyone:
“... if a person treats without knowledge or how to treat an illness, but (he/she) still tries to cure the sick just for the sake of wages, that person can be treated as a thief.”
Jamu benefits include:
Relieving menstrual cramps
Boosting immune response
Healthy bile production to improve digestion
Activation of a calming parasympathetic response
Anti-inflammatory
Supports healthy cholesterol levels
Regulates blood sugar
Supports post-partum healing
According to my research (so far), Jamu should be:
Concentrated and pure, water shouldn’t be present as the first ingredient
Without added sweeteners - Jamu should be a base for the recipient to take as needed
Viscerally benefitting - it should feel warming, grounding, even invigorating and uplifting
Traditionally we do not use vinegar or chilli or ferment it
From August 2024, I applied my curiousity and research to start making very small batches. I shared these with my community in little bottles with some branding I designed.
I asked recipients how it made them feel, what they knew about jamu already and if they felt any benefits after consuming once or a few times. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, curious and people seemed open to the concept.
Despite the outcome, I can’t quite explain how good it felt to start washing, peeling and processing these ancient rhizomes. It felt like I am connecting with lineage. It felt like an ancestral meditation.
It continued to feel like a conversation with my ancestors. Like a big goss session. I was receiving downloads on flavour, concentration, context, meaning, time….
Jamu in My Hands
I love understanding a city through the farmers market and I really enjoy talking to growers. I like understanding what they’re looking forward to, what’s been a pain point, how the land has been responding, what the weather means for them. Moving between cities for the last 12 months, it has been a source of grounding and understanding the environment.
I enjoy understanding what growers are looking forward to, what they’re struggling with, what would be helpful for customers to start buying from them instead of other things. I started asking for local organic ginger and turmeric, gathering an understanding of season and regionality.
In Perth, it was tricky, but once I moved to Melbourne, I had the entire east coast to work with. Ginger and turmeric grow considerably well in lush Queensland and their organic market is thriving.
Production
I’m continuing to make jamu but in slightly larger, consistent amounts based on what I can physically manage to carry myself (right now that’s 8L). The process is completely done by my hands, including washing, extracting the pulp and bottling. I’ve decided to blend, rather than juice or stone ground. I’m thankful to my ancestors grinding Jamu with hand and stone for centuries.
I’m excited to reach more people with an opportunity to experience authentic jamu and I’m prepared to solve the challenge of retaining non-negotiable consistency, reverence for tradition and the highest quality.
Thank you for the opportunity to reflect on my process.
Hen Herbal - watch this space!
