Jamu: The Ancient Art of Herbal Healing

Since I was a kid, I used to drink various herbal remedies. It's called "Jamu" in Indonesia.Jamu is a part of Indonesia culture. Since the ancient time, the art of making Jamu evolved and preserved thru generations to generations. Every Jamu makers had their own secret recipes.Jamu recipes vary from simple remedies to keep you healthy, maintain your beauty and ideal weight, hormon balance, to the more complex one like curing diabetes, high blood pressure, skin problems, and even cancer.I bought this book to gain information on how to make skin scrubs. But unfortunately it didn't available, just some simple remedies on page 180-181. But still it is a very well written and informative book. You also can find addresses of some jamu makers. Some has website, some not. But don't expect too much that you can buy Jamu from there because they are not really created to support buyers from outside of Indonesia., and some are not even maintained well.

The author, Ms Beers, has done remarkable justice to the subject of Jamu in her book. It is very well researched.The many references she makes in her book transports the reader, especially those who are Westernern educated and who have visited or lived in Indonesia, like me, to the domestic level of how jamu is manufactured both at cottage industry level as well as in large factories and how jamu is packaged, marketed and sold both in its raw domestically dispensed form and in glitzy packaged boxes for export.Remarkably, she has managed to capture how much traditional jamu is appreciated by millions of Indonesians and foreigners who have benefited from its holistic healing properties.Jamu is the indigenious health tonic and elixir which is and has been trusted by numerous generations of Indonesians. It is very much a part of the fabric of Indonesian society and counts Kings, royalty, Presidents and the general populace, right down to even humble poor peasants who wish to enhance their health and/or remedy ailments as its regular consumers and believers.The range of the different types of jamu is so vast. It is not a cure-all but from my days in Indonesia, I believe that jamu has a potion or tonic for almost every ailment and is easily affordable even to poor peasants.To people who enjoy and appreciate the health benefits of jamu, Ms Beers book paints a lucid landscape of the real world of jamu and the exotic ingredients and spices which are used to make jamu. I read her several references to the larger Jamu manufacturers as being little oil lamps to create greater awareness of and for jamu.Her book is not sponsored by any of the large jamu concerns. Therefore, I am flummoxed at how or why William Beatty came to the conclusion that her book is something close to a Sales Pitch. I beg to differ. In fact I see Ms Beers book as an attempt to promote the awareness of jamu internationally and, hopefully, it may become another cash export product which may help boost Indonesia's economy while bringing a "new" art of ancient HOLISTIC HEALING to the world.I would go one step further and hope that her book will be a catalyst to generate greater interest in jamu. I hope that it will lead to collaboration with manufacturers and practioners of Western medicine and other healing practices so that jamu will become scientifically refined, tested and manufactured to meet the highest medical standards of the open minded sophisticated Western world.Like every new product or cure, jamu has to survive the mandatory sailing in a sea of trepidation and cynicism before earning greater acceptance and following. Ms Beers book is a plus for jamu.Congratulations! Ms Susan Jane Beers, on a well researched and written piece of "jamu" work. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book; made more enjoyable by my rather basic knowledge of and experience with jamu. I keep it on the bookshelf as a reference.Wishing you success on your future literary endeavours.

If you are into healing herbs and aromatherapy, this is a good addition to your collection. I find it enriching to read about what other cultures use for healing.

While i hadn't expected much and i certainly didn't expect this book to unlock all the secrets of Indonesian jamu, i still got less than i had expected. It was good to hear some of the personal stories of women jamu sellers, but parts of the stories were then repeated throughout the book. WIth all the redundancies removed this would have been an even skimpier book. And the tiny selection of recipes at the end was a real let down.

Susan-Jane Beers through her personal experience provides a wealth of material complete with references and recipes that opens a door to this all-encompassing holistic system.This is not a novel - yet it drew me into its world and enclosed me in feeling tones of healing, simplicity, and nature.Ms. Beers has more than done her homework! The act of drawing attention to the preservation of this culture by the author is something to commend. There are side stories with photos of the fascinating small business people dedicated to running their healing business in a traditional way.Susan-Jane Beers has been a wonderful vehicle to bring Jamu to us - leading us on this journey from the kraton to the current state of affairs with plants becoming endangered. She is applauded to be a credit by not only increasing our interest in this subject but also importantly shedding light on the potential outcome of the endangered plant/eco system issues.Ms. Beers points out the fact that Indonesian medicinal plants can make a major contribution to world health.This book is not a quick read. You reach a corner and you stop and can see the people. Massage therapists, healers, herbologists, botanists, beauty experts, spa staff, and travelers will all find this book to be a keeper. I have it on my shelf to use as a manual and reference.

A very unusual title and dying art so it was great to this book on amazon. Lots to learn from it. Book caem in spc spam condition.

Wer sich mit Jamu als Ethnomedizin in Indonesien beschäftigt, der wird entäuscht sein. Leider beschreibt das Buch eine Mischung verschiedener ethnomedizinischer Therapien von Massage bis Naturkunde ohne wirklich der Therarpieform Jamu gerecht zu werden. Der Leser wird eher in die Irre geleitet, las das er erfährt was Jamu in Indonesien wirklich ist. Schade, als Indonesienkenner, der auch schon selber Jamu-Medizin ausprobiert hat, ist hier eine Chance für die Erklärung der Jamu-Medizin in Europa verloren gegangen.