IN the old Malay and Javanese society, panau or its scientific name tinea versicolor, a rind of white spots on skin caused by fungal infection, was not categorised as a skin malaise. In the old Nusantara archipelago folklore, panau was thought to be a beauty mark of women.
I can’t imagine how modern-day women are going to call themselves beauties if they have panau. They will look like Raden Galoh Cenderakirana or Raden Puspa Kencana, as described in the old Panji literature.
But here’s the thing. Freckles on a Mat Salleh’s face are also thought to be and categorised as beauty marks. It goes to prove the adage, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, is always true. These days, women slap whitening cream on their skin to look superficially white and they think that’s beauty in every sense of the word. They no longer think brown or dark skin is beautiful.
As I was growing up, I had seen women in my family smacking bedak sejuk (loosely translated as cold talcum) on their faces before going to bed. They looked ghostly white and it could give old men a heart attack if they had wandered around the kampung in the thick mask.
Malay society has many petua or tips for women to stay beautiful and radiant with soft and glowing skin. Really, the tips to maintain beauty and health are not just about swallowing little balls of Mak Jun (herbal concoction for general health) or imbibing Jamu, Indonesian liquid concoctions made of herbs and spices. Jamu, for many Indonesians and Malays, is like an elixir to remain youthful, beautiful and healthy.
In fact until this day, Malay society in the archipelago believes in concocting beauty remedies by mixing herbs, spices, roots and fruits; they make a paste or liquid solution that they rub all over their body so that their skin remains supple and hydrated.
For instance, the Malays had already invented facial mask made with tapioca flour and cucumber even before Western cosmetic companies ever thought of it. The traditional facial mask that Malay women pasted on their faces every other night was to tighten and revitalise the skin. This was the reason why women of yesteryear had always looked radiant.
Cucumber is blended and mixed with flour and water to thicken the solution into a paste. The paste is then rubbed over the face until it forms a mask. Women will still look ghostly white with drippy green slime on their faces.
Another old Malay tip to make women’s skin look radiant is to rub two halves of key lime (limau nipis) or kaffir lime (limau purut) on the skin during a bath. You don’t need anti-ageing or hydrating shower cream to accomplish that — the two types of lime are natural and cheap, and can be grown in your house compound.
Kaffir lime, cut into two halves, is also traditionally used to cleanse the scalp off dandruff. You only need to massage and excoriate the scalp before rinsing your hair. No need for soap-based hair shampoo that just lathers a lot rather than treating your scalp for dandruff.
For hair loss or hair fall, the old generation of Malays believed in using a mixed paste of bunga raya (hibiscus flowers) and lidah buaya (aloe vera). Lump the mixed paste on the scalp and let it stay on your head for one hour before rinsing the hair.
Turmeric or kunyit is another powerful anti-ageing solution for women (and men, too, if they dare enough to go out wearing that orangey pasted face) as it rejuvenates the skin. It smoothens the skin, reduces the oiliness of the face and peels away dead skin cells.
Since time immemorial, the Indians had been using turmeric in Ayurveda treatment on women during their confinement or post-partum period. Turmeric helps to revitalise their skin after all the hormonal changes during their pregnancies, apart from treating acne.
Another tip to treat varicose veins during and after pregnancies; the old Malays rubbed garlic on the spots where the veins were seen. Pounded ginger in lukewarm water helps with premenstrual syndrome pain.
There is a tip that I laugh out loud. If you have BO (body odour), especially that emanates from the armpits, do this. Before you take a bath, squat down and rub both the armpits on your kneecap. Apparently, the rough skin of the kneecap will help to remove the odour by peeling off the dead skin cells. Another good tip to do away with BO — regularly drink sugarless Calamansi Lime juice and eat the skin of the fruits as well.
When I was working in Jakarta, I noticed elderly women there sipped at a glass of steaming hot air kanji (liquid from boiled rice). A friend explained to me air kanji was good to strengthen the bosoms and buttocks of a woman so that they looked nicely rounded.
For those with bulging stomachs, it is recommended to mix key lime juice with kapur sireh (limestone paste) and spread the paste all over the tummy. Wrap the stomach with bengkung, a piece of long cloth tied around the waist, for a day or two. If the bengkung is cumbersome, just spread the paste evenly on the stomach and do it every night until the bulge goes down. Another way to reduce stomach bulge is to drink a mixture of tamarind and key lime in hot water left overnight.
More women than men suffer from cracked heels. The old Malays’ recommendation — try rubbing belimbing buluh or cucumber tree fruit on the heels although it may sting a little.
In the Malay psyche, tips for beauty and remedies for health are found around them. You don’t have to go far to get them, as they may just be sitting on your kitchen shelves.
C’est la vie.
The writer is a former NST journalist, now a film scriptwriter whose penchant is finding new food haunts in the country