Photo by Hanneke Mennens
As the dry season wet himself and the rains come knocking on our doors ( and, in my case at least, dripping through our ceilings and on our computers), it is time for me to enjoy a bout of the flu and create a mini Mount Merapi fabrics used next to my bed sick. Finally, it came time for me to go to the pharmacy for a big bag of candy pharmaceuticals. I then headed to the house shaking around five different remedies in my hand and I found myself reflecting on how I went local, saw - to - saw my propensity to chomping on pills as I would on a bag of M & Ms.
most Indonesians seem to need little encouragement neck pills and potions with the shovel, not only chemists but also supermarkets, convenience stores and even a road warungs are packed with tablets that are all guaranteed to you cure common illnesses such as flu, muscle aches, headaches, stomach Batavia, cancer, spina bifida and the like.
There are also many remedies out there to relieve the symptoms of these diseases Indonesia which do not correspond exactly with the strict biological and physiological categories. I refer to these two horses stalking the Apocalypse Masuk angin (enter the wind) and panas dalam (hot inside). What these two conditions actually correspond with specific medical terms has always escaped, but between these two conditions seem to cover almost all the bases, from mild indigestion to Ebola. In addition, I learned by bitter experience that the wind is much more likely to leave my body to grasp it.
And it's not just humans who are affected by these local pandemics. I was once on an InterCity bus traveling across Sumatra. The bus broke down and the word soon spread among the stranded passengers that the engine had suffered a fatal attack of Masuk angin .
Indonesian television is full of advertisements for pills of course, my favorite that should be a product called Pil Kita (Our pills). What are these little babies is a mystery, but it seems that things are a panacea for all the family.
"Daddy why me do you take these pills? What are they exactly? "
" They are our boy! They are ours. And we'll have a little less backchat we going? "
traditional Indonesian remedies are, of course, dominated by jamu , which are not very nice blends of herbs that are sold in stalls roadside or those ladies who pound the streets with bottles of baskets on their backs. Jamu is a multi-million and there are different potions available to fight against all of the pain of menstruation and acne kidney stones and impotence.
the reason why these potions remain popular, however, may have as much to do with poverty and despair as it does with credulity. I'm sure most Indonesians are aware that glasses tasteless roots and plants mixed eggs do not stack particularly well against heart defibrillators, keyhole surgery, dialysis machines and modern drugs, but access to expensive machines that go "Ping" is so often beyond the means of the people here.
Moreover, the Indonesian Doctors often prescribe expensive imported drugs when generics are available locally. Doctors will also engage in what is known as polypharmacy, ie prescribe a list of four or five drugs, many of which are not essential, but expensive (if you're poor) articles such as pills vitamins. Thus Indonesians struggling with barely a few rupees to rub together, are forced to take with illusory quick fixes and placebo effects quack remedies.
Other medications here are designed for, say, a more recreational use. Those little blue pills that can make purple ram a hard man like a diamond in an ice storm can be found on sale throughout the city and at night, a long line-kilometers of stalls extends through the region Kota offering everything from Viagra to condoms. Alas, however, up to 40 percent of the trapezoids, grandparents do blue on sale in Jakarta are apparently false.
Never mind, you can always use the services offered by the various clinics bearing the infamous name of Mak Erot that are guaranteed to set the Indonesian school children giggling. Mak Erot "clinical" deal in penis enlargement and treatments for sexual diseases and to use the power of the Muslim prayer, and a cocktail of 141 different herbs.
As the reputation of the original Mak Erot grew, the activity of manhood, and practitioners of the noble art of expanding belly banana now abound in Jakarta. A typical session will have to choose the shape and size of your weapon of choice from a selection of wooden phallus on the display. You will have your old generously slathered in a herbal gunk. Rather you than me.