Ethnography of Irup (Jamu): Medicinal Disclosure of the Traditional Malay’s Midwifery Practices in Sarawak
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33736/jbk.10239.2025Keywords:
indigenous knowledge literacy, traditional midwifery, local wisdom, ethnography, UNESCO SDG 11Abstract
The Malay Archipelago has long practised the use of herbs and/or organic plants to make herbal decoction drinks (jamu) for medicinal purposes. However, the practice of ingesting herbal decoctions has been gradually eroding due to the surge of modernisation and simplicity, as well as the decline in the number of practitioners of traditional medicine. In particular, the consumption of herbal concoctions (referred to locally as irup) by women in confinement after childbirth, which is a practice of traditional midwifery among Malays in Sarawak. This indigenous wisdom is increasingly dwindling and experiencing diaspora issues due to a lack of written records or pertinent reference materials and the particular ingredients of the sorts of herbs and plants mixture used in the making of irup being typically not shared openly. Thus, using ethnographic inquiry methods, a qualified traditional midwife in Kuching, Sarawak, discloses the specifics of the herbs and plant mixture used to make the irup. The findings discussed in this paper are crucial because they convey society's contemporary perception of the traditional herbs found in the making of irup, especially its potential to prevent or lessen the risk of postpartum depression and the blues. It is important to preserve social aspects of traditional practices for the benefit of future generations, as well as to help shape the Malay community's constantly disappearing cultural identity and indigenous medical knowledge, especially among Malays in Sarawak.
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