Long before becoming one of Indonesia’s most iconic tobacco products, kretek was believed to have originated as an attempt to relieve respiratory problems. A popular story about Haji Djamhari, a man from Kudus in Central Java, claims that he mixed cloves with tobacco after trying clove oil to ease his symptoms.
Although the story’s accuracy remains uncertain, it reflects how kretek was once associated with traditional remedies before developing into a major industry.
The Origins of Indonesia’s Kretek
In his book Kretek: The Culture and Heritage of Indonesia’s Clove Cigarettes, Mark Hanusz recounts that Djamhari suffered from respiratory problems. According to the story, he rubbed clove oil on his chest before trying to smoke a mixture of cloves and tobacco. He reportedly felt better after trying the mixture.
Clove oil contains eugenol, a compound responsible for cloves’ distinctive aroma and used in certain medicinal applications. However, Djamhari’s story does not prove that smoking kretek can treat respiratory problems. Cigarettes still pose health risks, and there is no medical evidence confirming the alleged therapeutic benefits described in the account.
Historical documentation is also insufficient to establish Djamhari’s identity with certainty. Some sources spell his name as Jamahri or Djamasri, while estimates of when kretek first emerged vary between the 1870s and 1880s.
As a result, Djamhari’s story is better understood as a popular account of kretek’s origins rather than a fully verified historical record.
The name kretek itself is believed to derive from the crackling sound made when cloves burn alongside tobacco. In its early days, kretek was rolled by hand and wrapped in klobot, or dried corn husks.
Production remained small-scale until entrepreneurs began to recognize the commercial potential of combining tobacco and cloves.
The Man Who Built Kretek’s Cigarette Industry
One of the key figures in transforming kretek into a large-scale industry was Nitisemito, an entrepreneur from Kudus born as Roesdi in 1863. Before entering the cigarette business, he tried several occupations, including tailoring and livestock trading.
In 1894, Nitisemito married Nasilah, who made hand-rolled cigarettes using a mixture of tobacco and cloves. Nitisemito saw an opportunity to sell these cigarettes on a larger scale. He began marketing kretek under the Bal Tiga brand in 1906 before establishing a company called NV Bal Tiga Nitisemito in 1908.
Nitisemito used marketing methods that were considered innovative for his time. He sourced printed packaging from Japan and offered rewards to customers who collected cigarette wrappers. The prizes ranged from household items to bicycles and cars.
These strategies helped Bal Tiga grow into one of the largest kretek companies. By 1938, its factory was reportedly producing around 10 million cigarettes a day and employing approximately 10,000 people.
The Rise and Fall of a Kretek Empire
The success of the kretek industry also intensified competition among entrepreneurs. In 1918, riots broke out in Kudus involving Javanese and Chinese communities, including kretek business owners. The tensions were linked to economic competition and relations between communities during the colonial period.
Bal Tiga eventually declined due to several factors, including business competition, internal family disputes, the Japanese occupation, and political pressures. The company went bankrupt in 1953.
From Djamhari’s story, which links cloves to traditional remedies, to Nitisemito’s business empire, kretek underwent a long transformation from a homegrown blend into a cigarette industry that helped shape Indonesia’s economic history.
