Dadap Tree, Known As The Magic Wood Because Of Its Millions Of Benefits
The dadap tree is known as sacred wood because it has many benefits, starting from its use as a Usadha to being used as a complementary means for Hindu community ceremonies in Bali. The dadap plant is mentioned in the palm leaves of Usadha Taru Pramana, Usadha Kuranta Bolong, and Usadha Tiwang. Here's the review.
The dadap tree is known as magic wood because it has many benefits, starting from its use as a Usadha to being used as a complementary means of ceremonies for Hindu communities in Bali. Usadha is a manuscript that contains knowledge about medicines, procedures for dispensing medicines, therapy, or traditional Balinese healing knowledge. Usadha Bali is believed to apply knowledge from the Ayur Veda and then adjust and adapt it to the environment and culture of the Balinese people. There are several types of Balinese Usadha, such as Usadha Taru Pramana, Usadha Kurantang Bolong, Usadha Tiwang, Usadha Kucacar, Usadha Paneseh, Usadha Dalem, Usadha Buduh, and Usadha Ila. These Usadhas have their own focus, treatment procedures and characteristics.
Usadha Taru Pramana is a medical science that uses herbal methods which contains records of various types of herbal medicinal plants and their functions in treatment. In the Usadha Taru Pramana palm leaf, many kinds of medicinal plants are mentioned which can be used to cure various diseases, such as the dadap tree, guava, pule plant, star fruit, jempiring, betel plant, papaya plant, moringa plant, soybeans, intaran leaves and many more. much more.
Dadap leaves (Photo Source: Private Collection)
In the Usadha Taru Pramana palm leaf it is stated that the dadap plant contains all the cool plant substances and is useful for treating flatulence due to colds. Based on Usadha Taru Pramana, the procedure for making medicine is by mixing parts of the tree bark with 11 coriander seeds and charcoal salt, then the mixture is crushed, squeezed, filtered and drunk. The dadap tree is also known as "sacred wood" because the dadap tree has many functions for people's lives, especially Hindus in Bali. Apart from that, the dadap tree is also called the "wood of life" because it can prevent miscarriage for pregnant women.
Dadap plant (Photo Source: Private Collection)
Apart from treating flatulence, the Usadha Taru Pramana also states that Dadap leaves can also cure hot diseases because Dadap has cold or cold properties. The use of dadap leaves to relieve heat or fever has been used by Balinese people for a long time. The medicine can be made by pounding dadap leaves and making boreh, then placing it on the forehead of someone who is sick. Because Dadap leaves also contain flavonoids, Dadap leaves can also be used as an antibiotic. Flavonoids are active compounds in plants that can be used as antimicrobials and antivirals, therefore in humans they can be used to cure several diseases such as fever, coughs, colds, especially diseases caused by viruses or bacteria. Not only the leaves, the stems can also be used as a medicine to thin phlegm and as a laxative. Together with the leaves, the flowers of the dadap plant can also be used to facilitate menstruation for women.
Apart from the Usadha Taru Pramana palm leaf, the Usadha Karunta Bolong palm leaf also states that the dadap tree can be used as medicine or tamba. The word Kuranta means the use of plants or plants that have medicinal properties as a method of curing disease. Meanwhile, the word Bolong means empty, bypassed, unimpeded, and a hole that can be passed through. So Usadha Kuranta Bolong means a collection of knowledge regarding the traditional Balinese system of medicine and healing for diseases of children under five using plants that have medicinal properties. Lontar Usadha Kuranta Bolong is one of the valuable documents in Balinese tradition which documents the use of the dadap plant as an ingredient in traditional medicine. The dadap tree, according to Usadha Kuranta Bolong palm leaves, has effective medicinal qualities for treating various diseases, including fever in toddlers. Its use involves mixing dadap leaves with other ingredients that have been tested and proven in traditional Balinese medicine. In practice, knowledge of palm leaves is important for caring for the health of children under five in a natural and traditional way, combining local wisdom and generations of experience in medicine.
As mentioned in the Usadha Kuranta Bolong edict:
“Tamba rare saban tur gerah muwang sarun sarana : don wuku wuku 3 muncuk, pupuk kene rare ike make wedaknie sarana don dapdap kuning, cekuh.”
The manuscript above, if translated into English, means:
“Use medicine and 3 uku uku shoots, after pounding them, apply them to the crown of the head, then use the powder using yellow dapdap leaves, pound them and powder them.”
Heat reliever medicine from crushed dadap leaves with kencur and basil (Photo Source: Private Collection)
Apart from the Usadha Taru Pramana palm leaf and the Usadha Kuranta Bolong palm leaf, the dadap tree is also mentioned as a medicine in the Usadha Tiwang palm leaf. Tiwang is a disease condition characterized by a number of symptoms which include a feeling of body weakness and pain, anxiety, sore eyes, and muscles that become stiff, which in severe cases can cause a person to lose consciousness or faint. Tiwang types can be divided into several types, namely North Tiwang, Tiwang Tojos, Tiwang Kretas, Tiwang Bojog, Tiwang Gurita, Tiwang Bangke, and Tiwang Udang. In Usadha Tiwang's release, he also documented other diseases such as cough and mokan, which are conditions with symptoms such as swelling and pain. There are several types of diseases that can be treated using the dadap plant in Usadha Tiwang palm leaves as follows.
- Tiwang bojog, with symptoms of eyebrows and mouth moving like monkey movements. The medicine is made by mixing dadap leaves, lime isen, and katumbah then used on the stomach.
- Used to relieve coughs by mixing dadap leaves, tingkih leaves, and onions then mashing them and using them as a powder.
- Tuju Upas, with symptoms of feeling weak. The medicine is made by mixing dadap wong leaves, yellow essence, and fennel then mashing it and rubbing it.
In accordance with the name "magic wood" because of its many benefits, not only is it used as medicine, the dadap tree can also be used in religious ceremonies by the Hindu community in Bali. The dadap serep tree (Erythrina suburbans) is often planted by Balinese people in their yards and participates in the coloring of religious rituals in Bali. The leaves can be used as decoration, to complete the preparation of an offering or offering. Several pieces of dadap leaves are crushed and then mixed with soaked rice, so it becomes what is called "plain flour". This plain flour will later be used as a complement to Banten Penyeneng. The meaning behind using plain flour is to symbolically perform a self-cleansing ritual and achieve liberation from all the dirt and sin that has occurred. In the Pawiwahan ceremony, the dadap tree is used in the Pepegatan ceremony. The trunk of the dadap tree has two branches, each branch tied using thread, filled with eleven pis bolongs, filled with kwangen, then spread out. The bride and groom will step over and step on the thread until it breaks. Pepegatan has the meaning of transition from the Brahmacari period or the period of seeking knowledge to the Grahasta period or married life.
These are the benefits of the dadap plant, starting from its use as medicine and as a means of Hindu religious ceremonies in Bali. It is not surprising because the benefits are so many that the dadap tree is called magic wood.
