Mentawai people take care of their outer looks; they wear necklaces and put wildflowers in their hair, sharpen their teeth with a chisel for aesthetic purposes, and are well known for their decorative tattoos.
Travel back in time to discover the Mentawai tribe! While staying in their community I get the chance to explore their unique way of living, stay in a traditional house "Uma" and join them on a hunting adventure in the jungle. An absolutely incredible experience!
I always try to get off the beaten track when I am traveling, and during one of my trips to Indonesia I didn’t miss the chance to visit the Siberut island, across the Sumatra coast. Spending a couple of days in the jungle with Mentawai tribe, seemed like an amazing experience, and it really was.
Mentawai tribe is among the oldest tribes in Indonesia. They are the native people of the Mentawai Islands, in the West Sumatra province. They live a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the coastal and rainforest ecosystems of the islands. Although the distance between the mainland and the Mentawai Islands is not significant, the island is isolated and nature still regulates their every day life. The Mentawai people had very little contact with the outside world and remained one of the ‘purest’ indigenous societies in Indonesia until the 19th and 20th centuries. They have their own animist belief called Sabulungan, where they believe all things have spirit and soul. When the spirits are not taken care, they might be haunted and bring bad luck, including illnesses.
Siberut island is located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 100 km off the west coast of West Sumatra, and separated from the main island by the Mentawai Strait. Much of the island is protected and it has become a national park since 1993, known as Taman Nasional Siberut. The Siberut National Park is one of the Biosphere Reserves working in conjunction with the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB).
To reach Siberut in the Mentawai islands, I first flew to Padang, the capital of West Sumatra. There are a number of domestic flights to Padang from Jakarta, Bali, Medan and other cities in Indonesia. In addition, there are international flights from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
From Padang’s Minangkabau International Airport I made my way to the port at Muara Padang by taxi. From there, I got the fast ferry directly to Muara Siberut, the port on Pulau Siberut, the only island in the Mentawai Islands which has a regular ferry to Padang. The fast boat is leaving around 07.00 am and arrives in Siberut mostly around 13.00 pm where I met our local guide. We reported to the authority for trekking and bought gifts and supplies for the family and get ready for an amazing adventure. We continued with a local motorized canoe upstream the river for around two hours to enter the world of the Mentawai tribe.
I will never forget my arrival to the community as the Mentawai people appeared from the forest wearing only loincloth and ink. They helped me carry my stuff and the supplies I carried to their Uma as it was hard trekking for a couple of hours in the muddy soil of the tropical forest. The Mentawai live in the traditional home called the Uma which is a longhouse and is made by weaving bamboo strips together to make walls and thatching the roofs with grass, the floor is raised on stilts and is made of wood planks. That traditional hut was my home for the next 4 days. Our Uma was located next to a stream and was decorated with skulls of the various animals they had hunted.
Every day we woke up, took a bath in the river and then we were exploring the daily activities of Shaman and his wife such as: making loincloth, fishing, cooking, and hunting. Mentawai people consume sago as their staple food, wild pigs, worms, chicken, and deer they get from hunting. In addition, I learned how they make Sago powder which is the main food of Mentawai.
We spend together sometime, making poison arrows for hunting, joined them for hunting deep in the jungle, even tasted the big Sago worms. Such a big experience too!
The Mentawai are the last tribe to use the tribal technique of hand-tapping tattoo to decorate their bodies using sharpened sticks or animal bones to transfer the ink on their bodies. Spending four days in the tribe was not enough. The richness of their culture coupled with the simplicity of their life and local wisdom left me with a deep love for this unique tribe. No wonder I can hardly resist the urge to travel back to Indonesia for the third time and discover other remote tribes around the country!
In spite of these changing times and globalization inpacting their way of living, the Mentawai people continue to live a traditional lifestyle managing to balance development with tradition. The Mentawai still depend on nature for their overall well being and the passing of traditions on to coming generations has not been disrupted. As tourism grows it provides greater livelihood opportunities, however I hope it doesn’t alter their way of life significantly, and rather preserve the authentic Mentawai culture.
Must-Pack Items For a Jungle Trek.
Trekking in a tropical jungle such as Taman Nasional Siberutm, a hot, humid and wet ecosystem, presents lots of challenges to the traveler. For this reason, make sure you leave with everything you need for an exciting, healthy and safe trip:
• Sleeping bag
• High SPF Sunscreen
• First Aid kit
• Insect Repellent containing Deet
• Bite Relief Click
• Travel Towel
• All Purpose Soap or Dry Wash Bath/Sink Plug
• Water Bottle / Hydration System
• Backpack
• Dry Bags
• Clothing such as Long Sleeve Shirt, Convertible Trousers, Lightweight Fleece, Lightweight Waterproof Jacket, Lightweight Waterproof Trousers and swimsuit.
Travel Clothing is designed to be hard-wearing, easy-care, fast-drying and lightweight. Remember that it is almost impossible to stay dry in the tropical heat of the rainforest, so make sure you have a ‘dry’ set of clothes for nighttime use that is stored in a dry bag during the day. Nights in the tropical forest can be as hot and wet as the days, although it can get quite cool before the sun rises.
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