A powerful drink for the president

In a humble workshop in the center of Jogja near the palace of the Pakualaman, two old women brew a magical drink: Jamu. A Pakualaman is a Javanese Duke.

Even now the women use the century-old recipes of the court doctor of Pakualaman VII, who happened to die in 1937.

The women still do all the work by hand.

Machines have no feelings, the oldest woman explains. She is 72 years old, but she seems to have the energy of a girl of, say, 47.

I assume she drinks large glasses of jamu every day.

Jamu is a popular potion in Indonesia. But since the former president, Mr Jokowi, declared that it offers protection against Covid, the demand for the drink has exploded.

Mr Jokowi said he drank it every morning.

The oldest woman smiles. But I think she is not joking when she says: We use powerful ingredients from nature, and they contain spirits that need to be treated with wisdom and care. Otherwise they will escape.

Not everyone can make a powerful jamu.

So the two women carefully beat, pound, split and knead buckets full of roots, plants and seeds into powder and pulp. They work long hours. Seven days a week. It is hard work. But someone needs to do it.

The oldest lady says: I have been working here for 36 years.

Really? I thought you were the owner.

No…! She laughs. I have to work for my money. I am just an ordinary person. I make fifty thousand rupiah a day.

About three dollars.

She points at the other woman in the workshop. I pass my knowledge on to her. She is working here for twenty years now. She can take over any day.

You mean, you plan to stop soon?

Are you kidding? I have a worn-out husband at home. And I also have two sons without a job. They love to work, but there are simply not enough jobs.

It’s hard for men to find a decent job.

We women can cook, wash, iron, sweep, help give birth to babies, look after children, clean toilets, kitchens, houses. You name it.

But what can you men do?

While she is pounding a pile of seeds to pieces, I laugh with her.

And I suggest that she could make a special jamu for the president. So he is able to create more decent jobs.

She nods. She laughs.

Or maybe a jamu that makes him think of a pension for people older than seventy-two.

Bennet Wakker, 2024