Let’s Try Batimung, the Banjar Special Pre-Marriage Treatment

Based on the book Batimung: Pengobatan Tradisional di Kabupaten Tapin Kalimantan Selatan (Batimung: Traditional Medicine in Tapin Regency, South Kalimantan), by Sisva Maryadi and Saefudin, 2017, published by Kepel Press, it is revealed that Batimung has existed since the time of the Majapahit Kingdom. The batimung treatment is also said to be influenced by the habits of the people in Java. In simple terms, batimung has the goal of get riding of sweat as much as possible so that unpleasant odors can get out of the body. 

Sumber: lifestyle.kompas.com

Bathimung is divided into two types, there are Health and Medicine Batimung. For those of you who need pre-marital care, you can try Health Batimung. Health batimung is often one of the requirements for prospective brides who live in the Banjar area or have a Banjarese lineage. However, now Batimung can also be done for anyone who wants to try.

The purpose of Batimung Health is to eliminate body odor and replace it with a fragrant smell that will be obtained during the batimung process. Usually, it is done one week or three days before the wedding. It is hoped that during the wedding procession the bride and groom will not get tired easily, and the sweat that comes out of the body smell good.

Sumber: www.jawapos.com

Batimung as pre-marital care has at least nine stages. So, what are the stages? Read more below.

• Finding the Ingredients

As the first step of pre-wedding care, friends must look for various kinds of leaves, such as galangal leaves, dilam/nilam leaves (Patchouli, Pogostemon cablin), pudak (pleomele, Dracaena angustifolia), citronella, pandan leaves and kaffir lime leaves. For fragrances there are flowers such as roses, jasmine, ylang, cempaka, or others according to availability.

• Ma’racik

This process means cutting/slicing/chopping the prepared herbs and flowers. The goal is to make it easy to stir when boiled.

• Ma’aduk

This process means mixing and stirring all the chopped herbs in a bowl of water.

• Ba’jajarang

This stage is the process of mixing all the spices into a container which is commonly known as Kuantan tanah. This container is also known as pottery. The size of the container is not more than 20cm.

• Ma’urak

This stage means preparing the tools to wrap the body of the bride and groom to be timung-ed. One of the mandatory tools is a purun mat, a woven mat that can prevent steam from dissipating immediately. In addition, it is also necessary to prepare a cloth or a kind of sarong, as well as a thick blanket to cover the purun mat.

• Ma’urai

This stage is still using a purun mat. The difference is, in Ma’urai, the purun mat, blanket, and sarong are used to wrap the person, in Ma’urai the purun mat is made to circle the body the one being timung-ed to protect the body during the batimung process.

• Ma’angkut

In this seventh step, the boiled spices are put into the purun mat that has been set for batimung.

Sumber: www.wahyudiansyah.com

• Batimung

This is the culmination of the batimung procession, where those who will be timung-ed are seated on a small chair. Between his/her legs was placed the kuantan tanah which was filled with boiling herbs. After getting the right position, the timung-ed body will be wrapped in a purun mat, then covered with thick cloths and blankets. This spa-like process is carried out until the water in the kuantan cools down. The frequency of the steaming is carried out as needed.

• Wanas

The last stage is let the batimung person to get out of the purun and blankets. After that the body is dried using a towel.

Those are the steps of batimung for pre-marital care. Jamupedia friends may try the treatment on your own with the help of family or can also look for spa services that provide batimung services.