The Indonesian island of Madura is famous for two things: bull racing and love potions. The concoctions made and sold on the island off the east coast of Java are touted as a natural way of restoring youth to a woman's reproductive canal without having to resort to plastic surgery.
"Our traditional herbs are indeed famous for making women feel like a virgin again and giving the vaginal canal a tighter feel than before they gave birth," said Fachruzah, 36, a maker of the traditional potions, known as "jamu ramuan" in the Indonesian language.
Fachruzah, who like many Indonesians has only one name, is a seventh-generation "peramu jamu," and has worked in the Madurese Crown, her family-run shop in Madura's Pamekasan regency, for 20 years.
"Madurese traditional herbs are also well-known as holistic body treatments for women that want to flatten their bellies and make their bodies smell fragrant all the time, especially the vagina," Fachruzah said, giggling.
Madura is a large, rugged island located about 740 km east of Jakarta. It is separated from East Java province and Surabaya, the second-largest city in Indonesia, by a narrow channel.
Indonesian people instantly associate Madura with bull racing, known as "karapan sapi," and Madurese women, who are known throughout the diverse country of 230 million people for their sexual prowess.
"I love Madurese women," said Rizal, a Jakarta taxi driver who used to work in East Java. "They always take care of their husbands well, and they smell good all the time. My second wife is a Madurese and my mistress, too."