The Temple of King Boko

About 3 kilometers south of Prambanan temple situated the area of Boko Temple in Sleman, Yogyakarta. By paying the ticket Rp 15,000 and additional Rp 7500 if you bring camera, we can start explore this 19 hectares park.

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How To Wear Sundanese Iket

Iket or fabric head coverings is part of the everyday men clothes on the island of Java, until around the beginning of the year 1900 ( click here for Javanese Old Postcards). The use of iket become imperative because it is believed to protect them from evil spirits, in addition to practical functions such as containers / wrappers, blankets, pads to carry the load on the head etc..

Iket is made of batik cloth in rectangle shape that is folded in such a way as to be typical models. There are differences iket model for West Java and Central Java. In this article we try to make the Sundanese iket styles. Iket models are given names like barangbang semplak, parekos, or porteng (source from here )

a b c d

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Wayang Golek, the Western Jawa Puppets

In the western part of Java there is a unique traditional art form of puppet show called wayang golek. Wayang show has been defined by UNESCO on November 7, 2003, as the legacy of very valuable culture and amazing work in the field of narrative story (Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity).

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Javanese Bride and Groom

gambar dari mudah menikah

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Wayang kulit, the Javanese Shadow puppet

pic from kkseema

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BATIK: Indonesian Art of Textile

pic from trulyjogja

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Madura's Magic Wand

Tongkat Madura is the secret of the Maduranese women to enhance sexual favors for both couples. This stick is made of herbs and ingredients from Madura island such as seashell powder, manjakani, rapet wood (Parameriae cortex), jati belanda leaves (Guazumae folia) and others. This secret has been spread throughout the world now but it is still surprising that Tongkat Ajimat Madura sold by mbok jamu is made ​​in China!

this Madura’s stick unfortunately made in China

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JAMU GENDONG

the jamu lady in this picture still owe me 3 kgs of temugiring and go MIA

Jamu gendong means back carried jamu. This traditional lady vendors sell various jamus such as beras kencur (for fatigue and good appetite), kunir asam (for womans health), cabe puyang (for fatigue and pain), pahitan (for 'sweet blood' or diabetes), kunci suruh (for vagina's health), kudu laos (for better blood flows), and uyup-uyup/gepyokan (for better breast milk flows).
This jamus stored in the glass bottles and served in glass portion. Today they also sell 'modern' jamus in pills and powders and other traditional beauty stuffs such as lulur and ratus. For more information about jamu gendong click here

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RICE

Rice (Oryza sativa)is the main food for Javanese and most indonesians (drier eastern indonesia have sagu and sweet potatoes). Lots of rituals and traditions here actually made for rice worshipment, so it is called that we have a rice culture.

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Javanese post-natal treatment

Javanese women have their secret for post natal body treatment. 7 days after the delivery they put tapel (tah-pehl), mixture of slaked limestone, lime juice, betel leaf and cajuput oil on their stomach. Afterwards, bengkung (behng-koong), cotton wrap of 15 cm wide and 10 meters long binded tightly around the tummy (below breast to hip area). The binder sits there all day, and take off at the afternoon with hot shower to cleanse. This treatment repeated daily for 40 days.



Pilis (peelees) is a forehead mask for relieve headache and restore vision. Parem (pah-reamp) is a water based lotion made by mixtures of rice, ginger and pepper to warm legs and arms and ease the blood circulation. With all the treatments mom’s body will back to initial shape very soon as it is before pregnancy and have a good overall health. Indonesian jamu manufacturers such Nyonya Meneer, Jamu Iboe and Simona have a complete post natal jamus package for no fuss home treatment.

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Tuberose

Tuberose Polianthes tuberosa L (Sedap Malam, or Night Delicious - because the scents spread heavily at night) is native to Central America. The fragrance is strong, mysterious and seductive and Indonesians usually asociated the scents with female spirits/ghosts. It’s very popular in Indonesia as cut flowers or clustered for bride’s accessories and decoration, traditional rituals and ceremonies. Other type of tuberose flowers is edible and added to kimlo soup.

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Fresh jamu drinks at Toko You

If you want to try fresh jamu drinks while in Bandung, just go to Toko You, a cafe/diner situated at jalan Hasanuddin, Dago area, just near the Borromeus Hospital.
Beside its cozy ‘warung’ like ambience (warung is a traditional grocery stall) and their butter fried frogs, we can have fresh jamu drinks. At the jamu bar we can order jamu drinks while watching the production process. Theres a lot of fresh tubers and other jamu ingredients inside the big jars on the table.



We can order any jamu drinks including beras kencur (rice and lesser galangan), kunyit asem (turmeric and tamarind), jamu sehat (health tonic) and so on. Just sip the jamu as a refreshment drink, or after meal whatever you like. You can ask it to be hot or cold. They sell jamu in bottles also for take away, no preservatives guaranteed.

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stone scrubing

As i was mention in older post about lulur, the lulur rituals originally performed by royal ladies inside the javanese courts. But ordinary girls outside also have their own way to keep their skin smooth. Theres always the stone.

Small stone from the river, picked carefully by size and smoothness. The shape should be round and the surface suppose to be smooth, with or without pores. Pumice also suitable for this, but have a rougher quality. The next step just rub the stone to skin tenderly while in the shower, and there it is, a scrub in its very basic form.

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how to read those stuff?

Just come across my mind that lots of buzz in this blog are not familiar for so many people. So i made a list of javanese and indonesian words and how to read it (I suppose)

Jamu read jah-moo
Lulur read looh-lure
Luluran read looh-looh-run
Ratus read rah-toos
Boreh read boh-reh
Temugiring read teh-moo-gee-reeng
Jahe read jah-hea
Kencur read kean-choore
Jawa read jah-wah
Bali read bah-lee
Parem read pah-remp

hope this stuff helpful

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Boreh body wrap

Boreh (read: boh-rehe) is a Balinese body mask made from various hot spices to treat fever, headaches, muscle aches and arthritis. Javanese also have just the similar mask called parem (read: puh-raem). This mask gives warm feeling to skin. When applied it gives warmth and comfort for body and mind.
ginger tuber



How to make boreh
1 tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp ground black peper
1 tsp kencur (Kaempferia galanga L.)powder
3 tsp ground rice
2 tbs water or as needed until thick solution formed
Essential oil

To use:
Do the test patch before use, since the mixture can cause temporary redness or itchyness for some people.
Lather the mixture with hand or a clean small paint brush to your body. Avoid sensitive area like armpit, nipples or crotch area. Wrap body with warm bath towel or plastic sheet. Relax for 10 minutes, and shower. Apply body cream afterwards.
Or if you feel cold, just lather this paste to your feet and leave it until dry.

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