degree. There are about 10 unani medical colleges where a postgraduate
degree is being given for BUMS doctors. All these colleges are affiliated to
reputed universities and recognised by the government.
Siddha
Siddha medicine is a form of medical treatment of diseases developed by the
ancient Tamils and is practised mainly in the south of the Indian subconti-
nent. It was described by the siddharswho wrote their recipes on palm-leaves
for the use of future generations.
The siddha practitioner is expected to have knowledge of four basic
concepts:^2
- Alchemy (vadham)
- Medicine (aithiyam)
- Yoga (yogam)
- Philosophy (thathuvam).
The use of metals such as gold, silver, iron, lead and mercury, and
extracts of corals and pearls, is a special feature of siddha medicine, which
claims to detoxify metals to enable them to be used for stubborn diseases.
Jamu
Traditional Indonesian medicine (jamu) is thought to have originated from the
Javanese royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta.^41 It is a holistic therapy
with influences from Arabian, Chinese and Indian medicine. Jamu involves
massage and the use of traditional herbal preparations made from the leaves,
fruits, roots, flowers and bark of medicinal plants. Traditionally medicines
were made freshly each day by boiling the prepared herbal ingredients (jamu
godok) using a lumpang(small iron mortar), pipisan, parut(grater) and kuali
(clay pot). Few households still maintain this tradition preferring to buy medi-
cines from others or use products that have been packaged as teas. Important
ingredients include species of ginger (e.g. Zingiber officinale, Zingiber
oronaticum andZingiberb bevifalium), turmeric (Curcuma domestica) and
cinnamon (Gijeyzahyza glabra).
There are two main applications of jamu:
- To maintain physical fitness, health and sexual performance
- To cure various kinds of illness.
Jamu is also used as a cosmetic. Some of the products are consumed, e.g.
kepel fruit (a brown fruit the size of a chicken egg) is considered to be a
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